The media today often portrays wireless technology as the panacea for keeping mobile employees connected to the enterprise network as well as information resources without hampering productivity.
There`s a lot of truth to this sentiment as cultural and social changes are driving more and more people to work "wirelessly". Indeed, it`s estimated that in 2005, handheld devices will have processing capabilities equal or even greater than today`s high-end desktops.
While miniaturisation facilitates high-capacity mobile computing, wireless technology ultimately keeps the mobile worker connected to the enterprise.
So needless to say, enterprises globally as well as locally recognise the value of wireless networks and work effortlessly to use it to increase workforce productivity and customer service. But, WLANs are today plagued with security and management issues that threaten to undermine all the hard work that`s gone into creating a wireless world.
It`s critical that companies act now, understanding the areas of risk and taking the right measures to mitigate it - hoping that your wireless device` s security features will address it, just won`t cut it.
The somewhat good news is that security technology is getting more sophisticated and affordable; however, malicious attacks are also getting more sophisticated. It`s a "cat and mouse" game played by security managers and intruders.
Enterprises should be aware of the issues, explore various methods to fix it and then put in pre-emptive measures to prevent a violation of the enterprise WLAN. Additionally, advances in other technologies such as biometrics, nanotechnology and others will in the near future augment security for wireless devices and users that connect the enterprise through the WLAN.
OK, so what are the basics that companies should look at to effectively pre-empt intrusion and subsequent malicious attacks:
* Take an enterprise-wide perspective when deploying wireless security and management. Though the challenges and requirements are slightly different in the WLAN world, it must be tied into the overall security of the enterprise;
* Define clear goals for your enterprise WLAN. The insecure nature of WLANs today might deter your from using them for mission-critical purposes. However, there are certain applications that might be more useful and beneficial to the enterprise if used over a WLAN;
* Identify the users of the WLAN. It is important to document and manage their credentials to ensure appropriate context-based access control;
* Invest in proper and thorough research to determine the best hardware and devices that will constitute your WLAN. Although standardisation is very appealing, many business cases may require a heterogeneous hardware environment; and
* Deploy all the basic WLAN security features to facilitate access and protect your network.
Although the above is only the first few steps, it`s a good place to start and coupled with key security management principles and solutions such as access, identity and threat management an organisation can securely continue its wireless connectivity efforts.
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