Wireless Security



Wireless Security

Wireless Security

Wireless technology has been around since the days before radios became popular. The astronauts in a space shuttle communicate to mission control without wires, just as a cordless phone allows people anywhere on the globe to communicate without the burden of wires tying them to a fixed location (Stewart, 2003). Wireless technologies as defined in this text, however, are newer and more sophisticated, operating at higher speeds and conforming to different standards.

Wireless networking is revolutionizing the way people work and play. By removing physical constraints commonly associated with high-speed networking, individuals are able to use networks in ways never possible in the past. Students can be connected to the Internet from anywhere on campus (Swaminatha et al., 2003). Family members can check email from anywhere in a house. Neighbors can pool resources and share one high-speed Internet connection.

Over the past several years, the price of wireless networking equipment has dropped significantly. Wireless NICs are nearing the price of their wired counterparts. At the same time, performance has increased dramatically. In 1998, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) topped out at 2Mb/s. In 2002, WLANs have reached speeds of 54Mb/s and higher.

Unfortunately, wireless networking is a double-edged sword. Wireless users have many more opportunities in front of them, but those opportunities open up the user to greater risk. The risk model of network security has been firmly entrenched in the concept that the physical layer is at least somewhat secure. With wireless networking, there is no physical security. The radio waves that make wireless networking possible are also what make wireless networking so dangerous (Adrian, Tygar, 2000). An attacker can be anywhere nearby listening to all the traffic from your networkxxxmdashxxxin your yard, in the parking lot across the street, or on the hill outside of town. By properly engineering and using your wireless network, you can keep attackers at bay.

One of the biggest threats to security, however, may be technological progress itself, as organizations embrace new technologies without taking the associated risks into account. To maintain and improve security, you need more than just the right blend of technology, policy and procedure. Computers and networks have created vast gray areas in which the lines between legal and criminal behavior are blurred beyond recognition. Distinctions between speech and action, traditional concepts of property, definitions of jurisdictional authority, and enforcement powers are poorly understood in the new-networked world. ...