The wireless local area network (WLAN) industry has been dogged by too many security standards and this has led to a proliferation of solutions, a new study by international consulting firm Frost & Sullivan has found.
This has led to interoperability issues and has done little to assuage customers` security fears, the study says.
The fears surrounding WLAN security have reached a point of stridency, and a growing acceptance of the technology hangs in the balance.
According to the study, the vulnerability of the (transposed) wired equivalent privacy protocol has caused companies to rethink their security strategies, encouraging expansion of the WLAN security solutions market.
The study asserts that the lack of a credible solution to thwart wireless hacking is also creating opportunities for vendors to come up with their own security standards. The profusion of protocols is already creating a problem of interoperability between similar products of different vendors.
However, the introduction of WiFi protected access (WPA) protocol, based on the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers` 802.11i standard, which is due out at the end of the year, is expected to resolve the issue of interoperability by testing all products for WPA compatibility.
These standards are likely to not only provide enterprise-grade security for WLAN networks, but also reduce the instances of enterprises seeking third-party security solutions.
A further finding states that emerging WLAN security standards will drive manufacturers to develop new and enhanced equipment, triggering exceptional growth. The total WLAN market, which was valued at $41.1 million in 2002, is projected to soar to $278.7 million by 2009.
"Although WLAN technology has been available for years, it was not until the IEEE released the 802.11b specification that the equipment moved out of its historic niches of warehousing, retail and logistics. WLAN deployments are now occurring in almost every market segment including the traditional logistics applications, healthcare and legal companies," explains Wai Sing Lee, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
"Due to the glut of standards, end-users will have misgivings regarding the interoperability, upgradeability and compatibility between different protocols and specifications, since they will not want to adopt a solution that has reached a technological dead end.
"They can only counter this by adopting a solution that is recommended by their network solutions provider, slowing down deployments until strong industry-wide solutions are available, or discontinuing WLAN deployments altogether," says Lee.
He adds: "The industry needs to find a way to balance end-user education with continued technological progress to sustain or increase enterprise WLAN adoptions."
Security vendors have been disseminating educational material to dispel end-user scepticism about WLAN security. Although solutions that conform with WLAN security standards are expected to dominate the market, additional security measures that are simply beyond the ability or scope of those standards, will always be needed.
The WLAN technology market is expected to continue to grow impressively, creating a correspondingly vast market for security solutions.
But given the current uncertain economic conditions, a complete overhaul of networks, favouring wireless, seems unlikely, the study concludes.
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