Wireless and Moneyless

Wireless networks have recently become a topic of much discussion. Employees enjoy the freedom and independence associated with wireless. An employee with a wireless enabled laptop has the freedom to move around the building with the same ability to access the network resources as he/she would have sitting at their desk. On the other hand, security personal have been reluctant to implement wireless networks because of the security concerns associated with them. These security concerns have been further perpetuated by the inexpensive cost and ease of installation. Many workers feel that if the IT Department and/or management will not provide wireless networks, the employees will buy there own. This attitude compromises the overall security of the corporate network. The average user does not realize the 'actual' cost to secure and implement a proper wireless local area network (WLAN). This case study covers two months of research risk analysis implementation and improvements of a WLAN installation. This is not to be taken as a step by step approach to solve all security issues associated with WLANS. This is merely a study of how one organization met the challenge of deploying a reasonably secure WLAN with virtually no capitol.