4 threats to wireless security
Every rose has its thorns, and every useful technology has its vulnerabilities. Cutting the wires to let employees work anywhere and connect remotely to information resources from increasingly powerful mobile devices can provide an attractive work environment and increase productivity. But it does not come free.
“With every advance comes new challenges,” said Amit Sinha, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions’ chief technologist for enterprise wireless local-area networks. “With every major advance in networking technology comes new ways to exploit it.” The risks of mobile computing flow in both directions, into and out of an enterprise.
“People are carrying enterprise information outside” on mobile devices, Sinha said. “Policies are needed on laptops and, very soon, on smart phones as well.” In the other direction, mobile devices can become infected with malware while outside the network perimeter. “The compromised machines eventually get inside the enterprise network” and provide a vector for infection in the network. Agencies need access policies to prevent that.
