Although the 802.1x access protocol is a must for wireless network security, companies rarely use it and thus leave the door open for hackers, according to Robert Lamprecht, IT advisory supervisor at KPMG.
The protocol lets users on either wireless or wired local networks set up a connection and prevent others from accessing the port they are trying to use if authentication fails.
For years, people were told not to drink. Then it became okay — even good — to have a glass of wine every night.
While it may not be as good news as the go-ahead to down some Chianti, the same reversal of traditional thinking may be happening in relation to wireless devices’ broadcasting of secure service set identifier (SSID). It has been an article of faith since the dawn of modern mobility (i.e., a couple of years ago) that broadcasting the SSID — a beacon that advertises the presence of the wireless device — is an invitation to crackers.
The WiMAX market may be veering toward a crash landing because of the growth of Long Term Evolution, a fourth-generation mobile technology still in its infancy, according to a report Friday from ABI Research.
Although AT&T could still be bidding in the FCC's current auction, it looks to have already won a nice chunk of 700 MHz licenses. The commission has approved AT&T's buyout of Aloha Partners, including its coveted spectrum holdings, which are estimated to cover 196 million people in 281 markets. AT&T offered to buy Aloha for $2.5 billion in cash.
Your Bluetooth could land you into a lot of problems if left unattended. While a Bluetooth offers a number of interesting features that can simplify our daily lives, savvy blue jackers are always on the look out.
“It is not only dangerous to leave your Bluetooth on, but it can cost you your phone,” said Anail Sharmal of Simba Telecom Ltd.
Sharma says blue jacking allows phone users to obtained data from someone else’s phone at times without their consent. One does not have to be a techie to go into your phone using Bluetooth.
Next time you are sitting in a hotel lobby checking email on your laptop, be careful: The "businessman" in the next lounge chair may be tracking your every move.
Many Wi-Fi users don't know that hackers posted at hot spots can steal personal information out of the air relatively easily. And savvy criminal hackers aren't settling for just access to credit cards, bank accounts and other personal financial information; they love to sneak into your company's network, too.
[Hack]
There's bad news for some retailers at this week’s National Retail Federation trade show in New York City, where WLAN security company AirDefense disclosed the findings of its four-day scan of local retailers’ wireless nets.
Security for retail wireless nets is still bad, though improving, AirDefense found after scanning nearly 800 stores in the five NYC boroughs between Thursday, Jan. 10 and Sunday, Jan. 13.
Whenever I talk or write about my own security setup, the one thing that surprises people -- and attracts the most criticism -- is the fact that I run an open wireless network at home. There's no password. There's no encryption. Anyone with wireless capability who can see my network can use it to access the internet.
To me, it's basic politeness. Providing internet access to guests is kind of like providing heat and electricity, or a hot cup of tea. But to some observers, it's both wrong and dangerous.
Enterprises planning to deploy wireless networks need not be overly concerned about risks to system security, said networking equipment vendor 3Com Corp.
It said the risks are the same as those posed to wired networks — the typical computer virus infection and odd worm-intrusion incident — as long as the proper precautions are taken.
3Com said its finding is based on a recent survey of 2,500 companies in Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
The viral infection that began in Cambridge, Massachusetts, somewhere between MIT and Harvard University, failed to cross the Charles River into Boston; in California, the San Francisco Bay stymied a similar attack.
