Indeed, when it comes to the threat matrix associated with wireless security, there are many issues demanding attention: everything from keeping unauthorized wireless users off wireless local area networks (WLANs) to making sure that the traffic flowing through a WLAN is encrypted in a way that keeps the payloads safe from prying eyes.

Although most wireless security solutions target organizations that have deployed wireless networks, there is a class of solutions that target all companies--even those that haven't deployed wireless networks. These solutions detect the existence of rogue access points. (An access point is a transceiver that connects devices on a wireless LAN to the wired infrastructure. A rogue access point is not authorized by an organization's IT department for operation.) Setting up an access point is child's play. In addition to plugging the access point into a power source, all one has to do is connect one end of an Ethernet cable to an available Ethernet port, connect the other end to an access point and voila! A new Wi-Fi WLAN is born.

By David Berlind at ZDNet.

[ Read more ]

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