OSX00060 - Disable Wi-Fi Support Software - 'AppleAirPort2.kext'

Information

Many organizations restrict the use of wireless technology in their network environment. However, most Mac computers have wireless capability built in, and simply turning it off may not meet your organization's wireless technology restrictions. You might need to remove components from Mac OS X to disable them from being turned on in System Preferences. Although wireless technology gives your network more flexibility with your users, it can cause security vulnerabilities you may be unaware of. It is recommended that wherever possible, wireless access be disabled for security reasons. Important- Repeat these instructions every time a system update is installed.

Solution

To remove support for WiFi at the kext file level- open a terminal session and use the following commands to remove the following files.
sudo srm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/AppleAirPort.kext
sudo srm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/AppleAirPort2.kext
sudo srm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/AppleAirPortFW.kext
GUI procedures- 1. Open the /System/Library/Extensions folder. 2. Drag the following files to the Trash- AppleAirPort.kext, AppleAirPort2.kext, AppleAirPortFW.kext 3. Open Terminal and enter the following command- $ sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions 4. Choose Finder > Secure Empty Trash to delete the file. 5. Restart the system.

See Also

http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/os/mac/u_mac_osx10.5_v1r2_stig_20110729.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7, CAT|II, CSCv6|9.1, Rule-ID|SV-31299r1_rule, STIG-ID|OSX00060, Vuln-ID|V-25252

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: faa3ae75c38a8ee92fb8a8613173e6ad3fcd43d2f91cd7f0076e69a4127761ef