Scoping out your airspace
Traditional wireless "sniffers" can help you monitor and test your network airspace. The more you know about your layout -- inside your offices, across the hallway, on the floors above and below you, as well as outside your brick and mortar -- the better idea you'll have about where security breaches might occur. Then you can implement intrusion prevention measures.
Distinguishing between legitimate and rogue users
One rather maintenance-intensive way to distinguish between the good guys and the bad is to have an inventory of wireless-card addresses associated with particular users. The problem arises when you have a visitor coming into your office who just wants to get onto your network to check his email. If his wireless card address isn't in your system, he'll be denied access. The other way to make the distinction is through monitoring the WLAN by location and using authentication tools to determine who is operating the device and if they are doing so from an IT-sanctioned location. With today's technology, such as Newbury Networks' WiFi Watchdog product, you can actually get as tight as three to 10 feet in your location restrictions. This selective detection helps IT security staff distinguish a rogue device from a device that's simply outside the perimeter causing no harm to users or the network.
Implementing location-based perimeter security
Conley describes it as "outside in and inside out": the process of denying access to anybody from the outside trying to get in, as well as anyone from the inside who might be associating with a outside network or a device that they shouldn't. The Air Force is currently using this technology to protect aircraft on the runways -- be they stationary or taxiing -- from allowing their wireless networks to be compromised. For corporations, it's an important safeguard to prevent the employees in the company a few floors above you from reading your signal and popping onto your network. Or disgruntled ex-employees sitting out in the parking lot trying to hijack your signal and wreak havoc on your network.
"Products like our WiFi Watchdog," said Conley, "create a virtual location-based firewall around facilities and prevent unauthorised access from any 802.11 source attempting to hop onto the network." What makes products like this especially attractive is that they provide IT security personnel with actionable location information and the origin of attempted intrusions -- everything from connection hijacking and man-in-the-middle attacks to MAC spoofing, MAC storms, and denial of service attacks.
Stay proactively cautious
It's evident that wireless technology can improve the productivity and efficiency of your organisation. But vigilance is necessary to maintain the security of your network. Conley advises:
"If you put the right practices in place, get the right tools, and solicit advice and expertise from people who have a very good understanding of these products and standards," Conley said, "you'll be able to implement a far more secure WLAN environment."
