Conclusion: Evolution of the 802.11 Standard

The 802.11 standard has evolved considerably and continues to be
refined. One of the most common misconceptions is that this standard
does not provide any significant level of protection, security, or privacy in
a wireless medium. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although
when you take devices like wireless access points or routers out of the
box, they are designed to function in an “open system,” where any wireless
workstation in range can join, if you follow the specification of the
standard permitting encryption and selective access control lists, 802.11
can provide a level of protection analogous to that of a wired network.
802.11b is the most commonly deployed wireless network standard
today. It provides 11 Mbps of throughput, which is just barely adequate
for today’s hungry bandwidth intensive network applications. The
802.11 standard is vulnerable to eavesdropping because it functions in
the same portion of the radio spectrum as cordless telephones and other
devices. This means it is a relatively simple matter to find a listening
device.


However, 802.11a is coming of age. It is in wider use as the equipment
for this flavor of the standard is also being produced by most
major manufacturers with backward compatibility with 802.11b. Since
the 5-GHz band is unlicensed for many radio applications, it is far more
difficult to design an eavesdropping device, but not impossible.
In essence, as the 802.11 standard evolves to offer greater speed it
carries a greater security risk if several key options are not configured.
If you diagram your wireless connection between the mobile workstation
and the access point, ensure that the channel is encrypted so that if anyone
does try to listen in, they only get garbage. You might also want to
consider using a virtual private network (VPN) to add a further layer of
encryption. The only downside to doing so is that you add a far greater
level of overhead that slows down your connection. This is why 802.11a
will be the dominant protocol in the very near future, once its prices
drop, for it offers two primary advantages:

1. Faster connection—Up to 54 Mbps to effectively deal with the
overhead of bandwidth-intensive applications

2. Operation in the 5 GHz band—There is a far smaller chance
of interference from other devices functioning in the same radio
spectrum.

As 802.11 continues to evolve, we will ultimately see manufacturers
producing wireless LANs that can operate globally using all the slightly
different wireless standards and varying frequencies. 802.11 has such
potential that a universal standard is only a few years away, but security
will always remain a prominent concern for users who need to configure
it appropriately so that information remains both secure and private
on any wireless network. 103