Securing Ad-Hoc WLANs

Wireless LAN security has come a long way in the past few years. 802.11's initial, flawed encryption standard, WEP, has been replaced by WPA and 802.11i, and a slew of new wireless security products have recently entered the market.

The problem is that most of these products, such as WLAN switches and rogue access point (AP) monitors, target the large enterprise market, while the majority of new wireless users actually fall into the SOHO (small office, home office) category.

For the enterprise, this category also includes employees who set up unofficial APs in their offices, and remote branch and regional offices who take it upon themselves to go wireless.

According to market-research firm Synergy Research Group, the SOHO/Home WLAN segment represents more than 57% of the total WLAN market. Likewise, the Dell'Oro Group notes that the SOHO WLAN shipments are expanding at a year-over-year rate of 73%.

Clearly, there is a disconnect here.

"Despite the fact that there are seven million or so business with 250 or fewer employees, WLAN security vendors are still ignoring the SMB and SOHO markets, said Mike Klein, CEO of Interlink Networks, a provider of WLAN security products for small businesses.

"Because of this many of the resellers we talk to advise small businesses to avoid wireless altogether. With limited IT resources, small businesses don't have the resources to secure and manage wireless deployments." And neither do your employees.