Wireless networking can bring unprecedented flexibility to many different working environments. But it is not without its risks, particularly if an organisation has not secured wireless networking equipment, or does not know which of their staff are using unsecured laptops or PDAs to connect to the network.

Wireless connections can be accessed from a considerable distance, so it is possible that a wireless network in an office could be hijacked from another floor in the same building or from neighbouring premises. Sometimes this is the result of an individual hijacking the connection so they can gain free internet access, but the same security holes could be targeted by individuals intending to penetrate and attack networks or steal data.

What makes unsecured wireless networks particularly dangerous is that staff may connect to them using PDAs or laptops which do not have their own security settings correctly configured or even, in particularly unfortunate cases, turned on. Although these devices do not allow a direct link into corporate networks they do create a bridge over which viruses or worms might pass, the next time the unsecured laptop is connected to the corporate network. Outbreaks of the Sasser virus have been traced to this kind of unsecured laptop use.