Security Challenges

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• Neglected Network Defences
• Inadequate Content Security
• Weak Telecoms Networks
• Wireless Network Worries
• People Problems

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 protection functions correctly configured or even, in particularly unfortunate cases, switched 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.

Unauthorised wireless network access points, often created by individuals keen to bypass security measures in order to sidestep internet usage policies rather than for any more threatening purpose, are another potential danger, as they open up another way in to the network.

Many of the most fundamental wireless security threats are eliminated, or at least drastically reduced, by simply ensuring that the security and encryption measures built in to network equipment and mobile devices are switched on, but organisations using wireless should be carrying out regular wireless penetration testing, and scanning to detect unauthorised wireless access points.

For details of the wireless testing we provide, visit the wireless testing page.

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