Wireless LANs are not without security complications

Source: IT Web

Wireless technology has advanced noticeably lately and organisations are beginning to realise the tremendous potential the technology holds. Users are becoming more mobile than ever before. With the increasing demand to work on the move, wireless technology has an important role to play in facilitating this required mobility.

However, wireless networks are not without their security complications. As with traditional wired networks, there are vulnerabilities and threats.

So says Chris Davis, executive at NamITrust, the specialist enterprise security solutions provider within NamITech.

"Organisations need to pay attention to these vulnerabilities and additional security features are required to make the basic WLAN specifications more secure and usable for the organisation," says Davis.

There are a variety of attacks a WLAN could be susceptible to:

* Jamming - interfering radio signals are used to jam an access point, preventing the further transmission of any wireless information.

* Denial of service - if a WLAN is bombarded with useless traffic; it could be forced to shut down all together.