Wi-Fi Security

The 802.11 standard is defined through several specifications of WLANs. It defines an over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients (Figure 1.3). There are several specifications in the 802.11 family:
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Wi-Fi is an acronym for wireless fidelity, commonly seen as IEEE 802.11b. The term comes from WECA. Wi-Fi is synonymous with 802.11b in much the same way as Ethernet is used in place of IEEE 802.3. Products certified as Wi-Fi ... [full story]

The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance is an organization composed of leading wireless equipment and software providers with the mission of guaranteeing interoperability of Wi-Fi products and to promote Wi-Fi as the global wireless LAN standard across all markets. [full story]

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an organization composed of engineers, scientists, and students. It has developed standards for the computer and electronics industry. The focus here is on IEEE 802 standards for wireless local-area networks. [full story]

Since I am pointing out some important safeguards for your WLAN, this is the place for a brief introduction to the intrusion detection system. There are a number of commercial solutions that use rules-based technology to determine “automatically” if someone ... [full story]

The best safeguard is to become familiar with your WLAN and your wireless router. You should take the steps above into serious consideration and establish an encryption key at least at the 64-bit, but preferably at the 128-bit level. However, ... [full story]

If a user is not able directly to log into your network, he may use a wireless “packet sniffer” to try and eavesdrop on the network traffic. In that way, even if the hacker is unable to authenticate himself onto ... [full story]

Do you know if the user logged in is really that person? It is an all too common practice for people to use other people’s accounts to authenticate themselves to the server. In most wireless networks, businesses often configure one ... [full story]

Many companies set very simple access permissions. You must be wary that networks are designed to increase interoperability so that it is a simple matter for a user to click on his “Network Neighborhood” icon in Windows and see all ... [full story]

Unauthorized users often try to log into a network to steal corporate data for profit. Employees who have been terminated often feel resentment and anger against their former employer. It is possible for some users to turn that anger into ... [full story]

Primary factors that define security in a wireless environment can be boiled down to five elements; they are shown as tightly integrated interdependent components in Figure 1.1: 1. Theft 2. Access Control 3. Authentication 4. Encryption 5. Safeguards [full story]

The wireless industry has evolved phenomenally over the past few years. Wireless transmission (once the domain of amateur radio enthusiasts and the military) is now a commonplace method of data communication for cellular phones, wireless PDAs, text pagers, and, most ... [full story]

Security is now an essential element that forms the cornerstone of every corporate network. Without privacy, however, your solution is incomplete! My expertise in the areas of security and privacy has provided me with a valuable perspective that has enabled ... [full story]