Wireless Network Security

Introduction

Wireless networks have grown in popularity. This is largely due to the increase in the value of a network as more users are attached to it. The value added to a network by nature of connecting more devices to it, is summarized in 'Metcalf's law.' Metcalf's law states that if you 'connect any number, 'n,' of machines - whether computers, phones or even cars - and you get 'n' squared potential value.'[1] The incredible growth of the Internet seems to validate Metcalf's law. It then seems reasonable that eliminating physical constraints to connecting to a network would provide value by allowing more devices to be connected to a network regardless of physical location. Wireless networks provide that ability.

Wireless networks operate over the full spectrum of network topographies. These topographies include: Personal, Local, Controller, Metropolitan, and Wide area networks. A Personal Area Network (PAN) is ??the interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters.?[2] A Local Area Network (LAN) is ?? a group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line or wireless link and typically share the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building).?[2] A Campus Area Network (CAN) is a fiber-optic network that physically interconnects entire buildings into one giant network. While each building may have several discrete LANs within it, each building represents a single node on the CAN. [3] A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is ?a network that interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic area or region larger than that covered by even a large [LAN] but smaller than the area covered by a wide area network (WAN [- explained next]).?[2] A Wide Area Network (WAN) is ?a geographically dispersed telecommunications network.?[2]

Wireless networks come in many configurations and use many technologies. Figure 1 depicts an example of the wireless technologies and standards used for each of the networks types defined above. The figure indicates two major categories of wireless technologies: fixed and mobile. The figure also indicates 10 technologies in use: Bluetooth, irDA, 802.11, IR LAN, IR Bridge, Ricochet, RF Bridge, Cellular, MCS and Satellite. Virtually all of these tec...

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...e issues addressed in the 802.11i standard, third party software vendors are rapidly creating and marketing wireless security services and third-party solutions. As the wireless market matures, it will become increasingly difficult to ?crack? wireless network security.

References

[1] http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~gaj1/metgg.html - Metcalf?s Law and Legacy

[2] http://www.whatis.com - Whatis?com

[3] http://www.lib.siu.edu/faq/network1.faq.html - LAN FAQ1

[4] http://local.cips.ca/queencity/Events/archivedEvents/2000-01/SpringSeminar01/kentonjanzen/sld003.htm - Canadian Information Processing Society

[5] http://www.tml.hut.fi/Studies/T-110.557/2002/papers/zahed_iqbal.pdf - Wireless LAN Technology: Current State and Future Trends

[6] http://www.athenasemi.com/market/index.html - [Wireless] Market Overview

[7] http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/columns/cableguy/cg0302.asp - Microsoft TechNet

[8] http://csrc.ncsl.nist.gov/publications/drafts/draft-sp800-48.pdf - Wireless Network Security

[9] http://www.whatis.com (war driving) ? Whatis?com

[10] http://www.netgear.com/pdf_docs/10StepsWirelessSecurity.pdf - Ten Easy Steps for Wireless LAN Security