Wireless Security

802.11 (Wi-Fi) wireless networking has become almost ubiquitous. Virtually every major organization has wireless capabilities, and wireless connectivity is available at Starbuck’s and many other restaurants. Some cities are even implementing wireless networks that span an entire metropolitan area.

One of the biggest advantages of wireless networking is that anyone can access the network from a laptop computer located within a few hundred feet of the access point. But that’s also the biggest problem with wireless networking, because any hacker with an appropriately equipped laptop can intercept the wireless signals from a car parked outside your building. If there is inadequate wireless security, he can relatively easily decode the data going to and from your devices. Even worse, he can gain access to your entire network and potentially steal or destroy sensitive information on your servers.

In order to minimize this problem, SILEX offers the industry’s strongest wireless security including both authentication and encryption.Authentication, which uses the proven 802.1X standard, prevents unauthorized users from gaining access to your network and can also be used to prevent internal problems like rogue access points. According to a white paper done by the market research company Infonetics, 43 per cent companies with 1000+ employees had already implemented 802.1X security in late 2005, growing to 69 per cent by 2007.

Encryption scrambles your data so that is unreadable by anyone other than the intended recipient. Silex supports the latest WPA2 wireless security standard with the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for the strongest encryption in conjunction with either 802.1X or Pre-Shared Key (PSK) authentication.  In addition, SILEX provides the older WPA and WEP standards for compatibility with legacy networks. Remember, network security is only as stong as it weakest link  If a single network device has weak security, then it is entirely possible a clever hacker could compromise your entire network. 

 

The Importance of Wireless Security
Because of the increasing popularity of wireless networks, there is an increasing need for security. This is because unlike wired networks, wireless networks can be easily hacked from outside of your building unless the proper security measures are in place. This paper examines the various issues regarding wireless security and the methods you can employ to safeguard your wireless network.