Deploying first-rate wireless security tools is a worthless endeavor if the enterprise is not diligent in keeping them current. Not updating security in access points and other gear can be worse than having no security at all. Some companies are so skittish about WLAN security that they refuse to deploy it -- even if their enterprises are prime candidates for its benefits -- despite the availability of tools that can make their WLAN as secure as a wired network.

Some executives just don't want to risk deploying a WLAN. Devin Akin, the CTO of Planet3 Wireless, says, "This is perfectly valid if they do not understand the technology. Most people don't. That's one of the problems. It falls back to educating the user, the installer, and the administrator."

To get a better view of the problems with this technology, the ways to combat those problems, and the new security trends, here is a closer look at wireless security from the CIO perspective.

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