Service

Wireless & Spectrum
Security

> airmon-ng start wlan0 && airodump-ng wlan0mon --band abg_

Your buildings talk. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRa, DECT, BACnet/IP, proprietary RF — every wireless signal is an attack surface. We listen to all of them, test all of them, and tell you exactly what an attacker could do from your car park.

Every signal is an attack surface.

Modern buildings are saturated with radio frequency emissions. Corporate Wi-Fi carries business traffic. IoT sensors monitor environmental conditions. Building management systems control HVAC, lighting, and access control. Lifts communicate with dispatch controllers. Smart meters report energy consumption. Security cameras stream over wireless links. DECT handsets carry voice calls. Every one of these signals extends beyond the physical walls of your building — and every one of them is potentially visible, interceptable, and exploitable by an attacker positioned within range.

Traditional wireless security assessments focus exclusively on corporate Wi-Fi. That is necessary — but it is not sufficient. A modern building's radio frequency environment encompasses dozens of protocols across multiple frequency bands, spanning both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) systems. An attacker who can intercept or manipulate the BMS controlling your HVAC does not need to touch your Wi-Fi. An attacker who can spoof commands to a lift controller does not need your domain credentials. The convergence of IT and OT in smart buildings has created an attack surface that most organisations have never mapped, let alone tested.

Our Wireless & Spectrum Security service covers the full radio frequency environment — not just Wi-Fi, but every protocol, every device, and every signal that your building emits. We assess corporate wireless networks using the same techniques as real threat actors, analyse the RF spectrum for every emission your facility produces, test the security of IoT and OT devices that communicate wirelessly, and deliver a complete picture of your organisation's exposure to wireless and radio frequency attack.

Beyond Wi-Fi

Most security firms test your Wi-Fi and stop. We bring software-defined radios, spectrum analysers, and protocol-specific tooling to assess every wireless system in your environment — from the 2.4 GHz corporate SSID to the 868 MHz building management sensors to the 1.9 GHz DECT handsets on the finance director's desk.


The full wireless attack surface.

Our assessment covers every category of wireless system deployed in your environment — across IT and OT, across all frequency bands, and across every protocol that touches the airwaves.

Corporate Wi-Fi
Full penetration testing of your corporate wireless infrastructure — WPA2/WPA3 Personal and Enterprise configurations, 802.1X and RADIUS security, evil twin and rogue access point attacks, PMKID harvesting, client-side attacks, captive portal bypass, and post-association segmentation testing. We test whether an attacker in the car park can reach your domain controller.
IoT Devices
Assessment of every Internet of Things device communicating wirelessly — sensors, cameras, smart displays, environmental monitors, occupancy detectors, asset trackers, and any other connected device. We test the protocols they use (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRaWAN, Thread, Matter), the security of their communications, whether they can be intercepted or spoofed, and whether a compromised IoT device provides a pivot point into the wider network.
HVAC & Building Management Systems
Building Management Systems (BMS) control heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and energy management — increasingly over IP and wireless protocols. We assess BACnet/IP, Modbus, LonWorks, KNX, and proprietary BMS protocols for authentication weaknesses, unencrypted communications, command injection, and the ability for an attacker to manipulate environmental controls. A compromised BMS can disable cooling in a data centre, override ventilation in occupied spaces, or manipulate energy systems — physical consequences from a cyber attack.
Lift & Elevator Control Systems
Modern lift systems use networked controllers communicating over IP, serial-over-IP, or proprietary wireless links for dispatch, monitoring, and maintenance access. We assess the security of lift controller communications, remote maintenance interfaces, and integration with building management systems — determining whether an attacker could intercept diagnostics, manipulate dispatch logic, or access the lift system's network as a pivot point into the building's OT infrastructure.
Smart Building & Access Control
Smart building platforms integrate access control, lighting, occupancy sensing, energy metering, and environmental management into unified systems — often communicating wirelessly. We test wireless access control readers and credentials (RFID, NFC, Bluetooth-based smart locks), smart lighting controllers, occupancy and presence detection systems, energy monitoring and smart metering infrastructure, and the integration bus connecting these systems. Each represents a potential entry point into the OT network or a means to manipulate the physical environment.
RF Spectrum & Voice Communications
Using software-defined radio and spectrum analysis equipment, we map every radio frequency emission from your facility across the relevant bands — identifying DECT cordless telephones (many still unencrypted, transmitting voice calls in cleartext), PMR/two-way radio communications used by security and facilities teams, proprietary RF links for alarm systems, CCTV, and industrial sensors, wireless presentation systems, and any unknown or rogue transmissions. If it transmits, we find it.

Two worlds, one attack surface.

The historic separation between Information Technology and Operational Technology is dissolving. BMS controllers now sit on the IP network. Lift systems report status via API. HVAC sensors feed data to cloud dashboards. This convergence creates efficiency — but it also creates attack paths that cross the IT/OT boundary in both directions.

Dimension Traditional IT Operational Technology
Primary concern Confidentiality and integrity of data Availability and safety of physical processes
Typical protocols TCP/IP, HTTP/S, 802.11 (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, DNS, LDAP BACnet, Modbus, LonWorks, KNX, DALI, Zigbee, Z-Wave, proprietary RF
Patching cadence Monthly or quarterly patch cycles are normal Rarely patched — firmware updates may require physical access and vendor involvement, and carry risk of disrupting physical systems
Authentication Active Directory, MFA, certificate-based auth Often minimal — default credentials, no authentication, or shared passwords that have not been changed since installation
Encryption TLS everywhere (or should be) Frequently absent — many OT protocols transmit commands and data in cleartext by design
Impact of compromise Data breach, financial loss, reputational damage Physical consequences — disabled HVAC in a data centre causes thermal shutdown, manipulated access control enables physical intrusion, compromised safety systems endanger occupants
The convergence risk When IT and OT share network infrastructure — even partially — a compromise of a corporate Wi-Fi credential can become a path to the BMS. A vulnerable IoT sensor on the corporate VLAN can become a pivot into the lift controller network. Our testing maps these cross-boundary attack paths that neither a pure IT assessment nor a pure OT assessment would discover.

Every protocol, every band, every signal.

Our assessment is not limited to Wi-Fi. We carry equipment and expertise to analyse wireless communications across the frequency spectrum relevant to corporate and building environments.

Wireless Protocols & Frequency Bands We Assess
# ── IT Wireless ───────────────────────────
802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax # Wi-Fi — 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz corporate & guest
802.11be # Wi-Fi 7 (6 GHz) — emerging deployments
Bluetooth / BLE # Classic & Low Energy — peripherals, beacons, locks
DECT # 1.88–1.9 GHz — cordless phones, voice intercept
Miracast / WiDi # Wireless display — boardroom presentation systems
NFC / RFID # 13.56 MHz / 125 kHz — access cards, asset tags

# ── IoT & Sensor Protocols ────────────────
Zigbee # 2.4 GHz — smart lighting, sensors, building automation
Z-Wave # 868 MHz (EU) / 908 MHz (US) — smart home, building control
Thread / Matter # 2.4 GHz mesh — next-gen IoT interoperability
LoRaWAN # 868 MHz (EU) — long-range sensors, metering, asset tracking
Sigfox # 868 MHz — LPWAN telemetry and monitoring
EnOcean # 868 MHz — energy harvesting sensors, building automation

# ── OT & Building Management ─────────────
BACnet/IP # Building automation — HVAC, lighting, metering
Modbus TCP/RTU # Industrial control — no authentication by design
LonWorks / LonTalk # Building networks — HVAC, lighting, access control
KNX / KNX-RF # European building automation — wired & wireless
DALI / DALI-2 # Digital lighting control — increasingly IP-connected
Proprietary RF # Vendor-specific protocols — alarm panels, sensors, lifts

# ── Radio & Voice ────────────────────────
PMR446 / DMR # Two-way radio — security, facilities, operations teams
Paging systems # POCSAG — often unencrypted, broadcasting in cleartext
Cellular (4G/5G) # Private networks, IoT SIMs, cellular failover links

How we work.

Our wireless and spectrum assessment follows a structured five-phase methodology that progresses from passive listening through active exploitation to post-association testing and reporting. The approach is adapted to your environment — the protocols present, the systems deployed, and the risk profile of your organisation.

Phase 1

Passive RF Reconnaissance & Spectrum Analysis

We deploy spectrum analysers and software-defined radios across the relevant frequency bands — monitoring passively from outside your premises. We capture every wireless emission: Wi-Fi beacons, Bluetooth advertisements, Zigbee traffic, DECT registrations, BMS telemetry, RF alarm signals, two-way radio transmissions, and any other signal your facility produces. This passive reconnaissance reveals the complete wireless footprint of your building before we transmit a single packet — and it tells us exactly what an attacker would discover by sitting in the car park and listening.

Phase 2

Wireless Environment Mapping

Using passive intelligence, we build a comprehensive map of every wireless system — SSIDs, access point locations, client devices, IoT endpoints, BMS controllers, DECT base stations, and unknown transmissions. We classify each by protocol, frequency, security configuration, and signal coverage beyond the premises. This map becomes the basis for the active testing plan — every system identified is assessed for security weaknesses according to its protocol and role.

Phase 3

Active Wireless & Protocol Testing

Targeted testing against every identified system: WPA2/WPA3 handshake capture and cracking, evil twin attacks against 802.1X Enterprise, PMKID harvesting, rogue access point deployment, Bluetooth device enumeration and pairing exploitation, Zigbee/Z-Wave sniffing and replay attacks, BACnet service discovery and command testing, DECT eavesdropping assessment, and RFID/NFC credential cloning where access control systems are in scope. Each test uses protocol-specific tools and techniques — there is no single scanner that covers this breadth.

Phase 4

Post-Association & Cross-Boundary Testing

Once we have access to a wireless network — whether corporate Wi-Fi, IoT VLAN, guest network, or BMS segment — we test what can be reached from that position. This is where the IT/OT convergence risk becomes tangible: can a compromised Wi-Fi credential reach the BMS network? Can an IoT sensor VLAN route to the corporate LAN? Can BACnet controllers be reached from the guest Wi-Fi? We map every cross-boundary path and test every segmentation control, documenting the complete attack chain from initial wireless access to the most sensitive system reachable.

Phase 5

Reporting, Heatmap & Remediation Roadmap

You receive a full RF environment map, a complete catalogue of every wireless system identified (including any rogue or unknown transmissions), detailed findings for every vulnerability discovered across every protocol tested, evidence of exploitation (captured credentials, intercepted communications, accessed systems), cross-boundary attack path documentation, a signal leakage assessment showing where your wireless emissions are detectable beyond your premises, and a prioritised remediation roadmap covering both IT and OT recommendations. We debrief in person — walking through findings with both your IT security team and your facilities/building management team, because the remediation crosses both domains.


Findings from the real world.

The following represents the categories of findings we routinely discover during wireless and spectrum assessments. These are not theoretical — they are issues we encounter regularly across sectors and building types.

Wi-Fi Credential Capture
WPA2-Enterprise deployments where client devices do not validate the RADIUS server certificate — allowing us to deploy an evil twin, capture MSCHAPv2 hashes, and crack domain credentials offline. The most common high-severity wireless finding. Gives an external attacker domain credentials from the car park.
Flat or Broken Segmentation
Guest Wi-Fi, IoT VLANs, BMS networks, and corporate LANs that are supposed to be segmented but are not — routing between them is permitted, firewall rules are missing or misconfigured, or the BMS sits on the same VLAN as corporate workstations. The path from a guest Wi-Fi credential to the domain controller should not exist, but we find it regularly.
Unauthenticated BMS Access
Building management controllers accessible without authentication — BACnet devices that accept commands from any source, Modbus controllers with no access control, web-based BMS dashboards with default credentials. We have demonstrated the ability to manipulate HVAC setpoints, disable cooling, and override lighting schedules from an unauthenticated position on the network.
Cleartext Voice Interception
DECT cordless phones transmitting voice calls without encryption — interceptable with readily available SDR equipment from outside the building. Paging systems broadcasting sensitive messages in cleartext POCSAG. Two-way radios used by security teams transmitting unencrypted on known frequencies. All interceptable without the target being aware.
RFID Access Card Cloning
Access control systems using low-frequency (125 kHz) proximity cards such as HID Prox or EM4100 — which transmit their credential in cleartext and can be cloned in seconds with a £30 device from reading distance. Even higher-frequency systems (MIFARE Classic) may be vulnerable to known cryptographic attacks. A cloned access card bypasses every physical security control in the building.
Rogue & Unknown Transmissions
Wireless devices that the organisation does not know about — consumer access points plugged in by employees for convenience, IoT devices installed by building contractors that were never documented, legacy wireless systems from previous tenants still transmitting, and occasionally genuinely suspicious transmissions that warrant further investigation. You cannot secure what you do not know exists.

Purpose-built for full-spectrum assessment.

Wireless and spectrum testing requires specialist hardware that goes far beyond a laptop with a Wi-Fi adapter. Our assessors deploy with protocol-specific equipment covering every system in your environment.

Equipment Category What It Does
Wi-Fi Assessment Adapters Monitor mode and packet injection capable adapters (Alfa AWUS036ACH, AWUS036ACSM) for passive capture, handshake interception, evil twin deployment, and client-side attacks across 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Software-Defined Radios HackRF One, RTL-SDR, USRP — wideband receivers covering 1 MHz to 6 GHz for spectrum analysis, DECT interception, Zigbee/Z-Wave capture, PMR monitoring, pager decoding, and identification of unknown RF emissions.
Spectrum Analysers Dedicated RF spectrum analysis for visualising the complete electromagnetic environment, identifying interference, locating rogue transmitters, and measuring signal leakage beyond the premises.
Bluetooth & BLE Tooling Ubertooth One for Bluetooth Classic sniffing, BLE dongles for advertisement scanning, GATT enumeration, and characteristic manipulation of smart building devices, locks, and beacons.
Zigbee & Z-Wave Sniffers ApiMote, RZUSBstick, and Z-Wave dongles for packet capture, network key extraction, replay attacks, and security analysis of building automation sensors and actuators.
RFID & NFC Equipment Proxmark3 for low-frequency and high-frequency access card analysis — reading, cloning, and emulating credentials for HID Prox, iCLASS, MIFARE, DESFire, and other access control technologies.
Directional Antennas Yagi and parabolic directional antennas for extended-range Wi-Fi assessment, signal strength mapping, and determining the effective attack range of your wireless infrastructure from external positions.

What you receive.

Every engagement produces a comprehensive output covering both the IT and OT wireless environment.

Deliverable Detail
RF environment map A complete catalogue of every wireless system detected — SSIDs, BLE devices, Zigbee networks, DECT base stations, BMS controllers, and all other RF emissions. Includes signal coverage mapping showing where each system is detectable beyond your premises.
Executive summary A board-ready overview of your wireless and spectrum security posture, key risks, and strategic recommendations — written for leadership, not engineers.
Technical report Every finding documented with severity rating, attack narrative, evidence, affected systems, and protocol-specific remediation guidance covering both IT and OT recommendations.
Cross-boundary attack paths Documentation of every attack chain that crosses IT/OT boundaries — showing how a Wi-Fi compromise reaches BMS, how an IoT VLAN routes to the corporate LAN, or how a guest network connects to the lift controller.
Signal leakage assessment A report detailing which wireless signals are detectable from outside your premises, at what range, and what intelligence an attacker could gather from each — informing decisions about signal management and physical positioning of wireless infrastructure.
Remediation tracker A structured spreadsheet of all findings with severity, status, owner (IT or facilities/OT), and deadline columns — ready for your project management workflow.
Joint IT/OT debrief A walkthrough session with both your IT security team and your facilities/building management team. Wireless and OT findings require collaboration across these teams for effective remediation — we facilitate that conversation.
Free retest Once remediation is complete, we return to retest every finding — included in the engagement price — and issue an updated report confirming closure.

Wireless & spectrum FAQ.

A standard Wi-Fi penetration test assesses your corporate wireless networks — SSIDs, authentication, segmentation. Our Wireless & Spectrum Security service includes all of that, plus full radio frequency spectrum analysis covering every wireless protocol and device in your environment: IoT sensors, building management systems, HVAC controllers, lift systems, DECT phones, access control, two-way radios, and any other system communicating over the airwaves. It is the difference between testing one protocol and testing every protocol.

We take extreme care with operational technology. OT testing is conducted under strict rules of engagement agreed with both your IT and facilities teams. For safety-critical systems like lifts and HVAC, we focus on passive analysis and non-destructive testing — identifying vulnerabilities without triggering state changes. Where active testing of BMS or control systems is authorised, it is conducted during agreed maintenance windows with building management personnel present. We never compromise system availability without explicit written consent.

The external phase of the assessment is conducted from outside your premises — from the car park, the pavement, neighbouring areas within radio range. This demonstrates what an attacker could achieve without ever entering the building. We then conduct an internal phase from within the premises to test segmentation, post-association access, and systems that are not detectable from outside. Both phases are essential for a complete assessment.

It depends on the scope. A single-building assessment covering Wi-Fi, IoT, and BMS typically takes 5–10 days. A multi-site campus or a complex environment with extensive OT infrastructure may take longer. The passive RF reconnaissance phase runs for at least 24–48 hours to capture the full operational cycle of the building — systems that are active during business hours, overnight, and at weekends. We provide a clear timeline during scoping.

This is one of the few assessments that genuinely requires collaboration between IT and facilities/building management. Your IT security team understands the corporate wireless and network infrastructure. Your facilities team understands the BMS, HVAC, lifts, and building control systems. Both need to be involved in scoping, available during testing for escalation, and present at the debrief — because the findings and remediation will span both domains.

Absolutely — and it is often most effective when combined. A wireless and spectrum assessment paired with an internal network penetration test demonstrates the complete attack chain from wireless access to domain compromise. Combined with an airspace security assessment, it covers the full three-dimensional attack surface — ground and aerial. We scope combined engagements to maximise coverage and minimise duplication.


Find out what your building is broadcasting.

Every wireless signal is a potential attack path. Every protocol is a potential weakness. We test all of them — from the corporate Wi-Fi to the BMS to the frequency bands you didn't know your building was using.