WLAN Security

Just like questions are raised on anything that is new, the same thing happened for wireless LAN as well. We have conventionally seen a lot of wires going to and from all kinds of destinations in our homes and offices. So the idea of a network that can run efficiently and yet without any wires raised eyebrows. There were questions on the feasibility and efficiency of it and whether such a system was at all secured or not. Though many are still bothered with it, but there are others who are satisfied with the WLAN security threats are thus going for it.

The concerns were also not unfounded. Due to the fact that they use radio waves, wireless LANs are open to hackers who always keep trying to access data or ruin a network. In fact, most wireless LANs do not implement any form of reliable security.

And this is mostly true even today, even in cases where network administrators use built-in security protocol WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy. Recently a 7-month investigation was conducted in London and the results were beyond belief. As per the findings, as many as 94% of all wireless LANS were not secured, that is they were open to attacks. Then there has been a team that has proved that even a WEP secured WLAN can be infiltrated, and that too in just 15 minutes.

In spite of this however, there is much demand for WLAN, mostly because of the benefits. Organizations are also eager to migrate to wireless LANs. Users want the any-time/anywhere network access that can be provided through WLAN. Administrators also love the easy and flexible installation and believe that such a network would actually lead to long-term savings.

However, with the arrival of the WPA2 client software for Windows XP, the security concerns have somewhat gone down. In fact, with time more and more solutions would come out to make it more secured. But one thing is certain and that is, WLAN is here to stay.