Risk and Realities of WLAN in the Enterprise

Businesses are embracing WLAN for many reasons, most commonly for the convenience it offers. No need for wires gives employees the freedom to work in common areas or from hard to reach places. Employees are also finding the convenience of remote working using WLAN from home and public hotspots. An increasing number of enterprises are even forgoing a wired infrastructure completely, and relying upon wireless connections. It is a known fact that wireless has more than its share of security issues, and while most enterprises have already implemented or plans to implement WLAN, it is essential that they understand the technology and all the risks associated with it. Most WLAN currently runs on 802.11b, which is also commonly referred to as Wi-Fi. A number of recent 802.11x protocols have been released and announced aimed at improving security features, increasing network speeds and adding high-bandwidth applications. 802.11b protocol has been around for a while now, and sails at up to11 Mbps throughput. Today, 802.11g and its counterpart 802.11a products are widely available, and they can send packets up to 54 Mbps. The wireless access signal typically extends anywhere from 100 to 300 feet – far enough to service employees at the same company within the same office building.