Wireless LAN Security Defense In Depth

A lot has been said about wireless networking in recent years especially on the wireless LAN. More importantly, it has changed the way people think about wireless networks. Used to be seen as expensive technology for individuals, wireless LAN can now be seen not only in enterprise networks but also at public areas like the airport, hotels, coffee shops and also in shopping malls. This increasing trends has seen tremendous growth of wireless LANs usage and services. In fact, there has been increasing trends of having wireless hotspots in many countries. The benefits of mobility, easiness and convenience have made wireless LAN so popular. This paper attempts to openly describe the technology of wireless LANs (mostly IEEE 802.11b), what are its standards and components, why it is less secure as compared to its' wired counterpart and what can be done or applied in order to make wireless networks more secured from the technology and human perspective. Moreover, this paper discusses limitations and risk of wireless LAN and how the def+E108ense in depth approaches can be deployed towards the implementation of a secure wireless LAN.