Smart cards

Smart cards are often an effective means of adding
enhanced protection to your wireless laptop, though they add another
layer of complexity at the same time. When you use a smart card in
combination with authentication techniques that rely on your username
or password, you have a greater chance of making certain your computer
access remains secure. Smart cards can also work together with biometric
devices that depend on the physical attributes of the user to
access your wireless network.

In a typical WLAN deployment, smart cards offer the enhanced functionality
of tighter authentication. They are practical in networking
environments that require authentication techniques beyond just a
username and password. User certificates, for example, are actually
stored on the cards and often require that the user know only a special
PIN number which can either remain static or dynamically change
according to a special algorithm set by a special device.
Smart cards follow the user and are not tied to a specific mobile computing
device. They are a good authentication solution that is tamperresistant
for the most part. When you integrate them into your WLAN,
you greatly enhance system security.

As with any security solution, it is important for users to understand
that smart card security solutions are not a cure-all for the limitations
and restrictions of 802.11 security. An effective security solution relies
on a number of access safeguards, and the more you use with laptop
computing devices, the better off you are. 255