Corporate Wireless LAN: Know the Risks and Best Practices to Mitigate them

In recent years, the hottest high tech trend which has received a lot of publicity and hype is the term Wireless LAN (WLAN). There are more and more organizations of all sizes implementing and using wireless networks or Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) networks. This is due in part to its flexibility and mobility, ease of installations and lower implementation costs compared to installing wired cables. Not only can Wi-Fi technology be seen implemented on private wireless networks, it is also being deployed rapidly on the public wireless network via hotspots found in hotels, airports, cafes and restaurants around the world. In fact, WLAN technology has been the fastest growing technology since the Internet. However, the benefits of using wireless LAN are not without security risks. Corporations are beginning to realize wireless LANs have been poorly implemented or configured with little regard for information security. Problems include limited to non-existent encryption of the network traffic from wireless access points, and users setting up illegal rogue access points within their corporate network. A recent study conducted by AirDefense in three U.S. cities found that 57% of the access points were not using any type of encryption. In addition, 9% were unauthorized rogue access points.