It is no secret that wireless operators are struggling to deliver on the much-hyped promise of next-generation networks that combine voice and data on cellular networks. Collectively, they have spent billions on licenses and equipment to roll out a broad array of new data-centric services for customers. But emerging technologies could offer a leap past so-called third-generation (3G) systems just as they are getting off the ground.
Security is the most frequent culprit in a WLAN configuration headache, but WLAN-specific network problems such as RF (radio frequency) interference, vendor interoperability, and traffic vs. signal distribution all add to the pain. It’s enough to make you look back at copper with a certain fondness.
This paper attempts to present a reasoned analysis of wireless networking security, particularly as applied to the automated data collection (ADC) marketplace. While there are real security vulnerabilities associated with wireless networks, LXE urges all current and potential wireless networking users to make a rational assessment of their security needs, their exposure to risk and the cost of mitigating those risks. ADC environments pose some unique considerations because of the types of data transmitted, the geography of the coverage areas and the mobility of the users.
A startup is sampling a chip set that it says will improve dramatically the range and performance of wireless LANs and eliminate current security problems. Airgo Networks' chip sets blend advances from several technologies. The result, CEO Greg Raleigh says, will be WLAN access points with two-and-a-half to five times the range of existing products and at least two to four times the throughput of existing WLAN products. They also will maintain throughput at longer distances, he says.
A handful of technology and consumer privacy experts testifying at a California Senate hearing Monday called for regulation of a controversial technology designed to wirelessly monitor everything from clothing to currency.
SBC communications, a major U.S. carrier and majority owner of Cingular Wireless, is jumping into the Wi-Fi “we will have 20,000 hot spots” game, along with Cometa Networks, which also promises 20,000 hot spots. SBC calls it FreedomLink. Jeff Belk, vice president of marketing at Qualcomm, the patent holder for all CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) chips, says, “At some point, you have to have a bit of skepticism.” I go one step further and say you have to have a lot of skepticism about all these promises to blanket the country with Wi-Fi.
No unencrypted data passing over public access Wi-Fi hot spots is safe from the prying eyes of hackers using simple packet-sniffing tools, industry analysts have claimed.
According to analyst the Butler Group, existing security measures built into 802.11x wireless infrastructures are simply not good enough to protect data.
Facing increasing resistance and concerns about privacy, the United States' largest food companies and retailers will try to win consumer approval for radio identification devices by portraying the technology as an essential tool for keeping the nation's food supply safe from terrorists.
Hughes Network Systems launched today a Wi-fi service that originates from satellites circling as high as 24,400 miles above the earth. The geostationary satellites rotate in sync with the earth and so appear to be stationary in the sky.
The satellite service called Direcway will be sold as a backhaul solution to wireless service providers and to companies looking to offer wireless Internet service to customers in areas that traditional backhaul service providers cannot reach.
A group of security experts have created a two-wheeled robot that detects security problems in Wi-Fi networks
A strange two-wheeled creature was skimming through the halls of the Alexis Park Hotel on Sunday -- a robot that sniffs out network vulnerabilities.
Created by two members of a loose association of security experts called the Shmoo Group, the robot is designed to wheel around on its own detecting and reporting the security problems of Wi-Fi wireless networks.
