The Hidden Risks of Wi-Fi

Most of us in the business world today, especially those who travel, can't live without our laptops and readily available Wi-Fi connections. All new laptops today have Wi-Fi built in as a default configuration, and if you want one without such wireless capability, it's a special order. Our world has certainly changed.

Wireless networks offer tremendous benefits, but they also present significant risks, particularly end-point security, which is the requirement for end devices to be managed and secured whether or not they are connected to the corporate network. As more mobile workers use their laptops to connect to corporate and public Wi-Fi networks, I.T. departments and end users will need to be aware of the risks and implement the right mitigation plans. Most Wi-Fi security stories focus on over-the-air data encryption, wireless access control or intrusion prevention. Although these are important issues, there are hidden risks with wireless that may not be well known but still present some serious security challenges. Two of them are working in ad hoc mode and dual homing, which is simultaneous connection to two networks.