Afterword: The Future of Wireless Security

This book is just the beginning. Wireless security will evolve to fit continually with the needs of advanced technology. As devices change, the requirements for protecting them will, too. As infrastructure changes, the requirements for implementing comprehensive security plans will follow suit. As the public's attitude towards wireless security and privacy changes, designers and developers will introduce new market differentiators.

Will wireless devices, as we know them today, exist ten years from now? Not a chance. If you compare the first computer you saw with the one you own now, you can appreciate what the difference will be. The process we taught you in this text, however, will make your security solutions robust and tailored in such a way as to apply to third-generation and fourth-generation devices. Maybe laptops will connect seamlessly and securely to wireless networks across the globe without user intervention. Maybe cryptographic solutions will advance to the point that they can encrypt wireless communication to the same degree as wired without introducing latency into a system. Then again, maybe none of this will happen.

What is more important than playing guessing games about the next best-seller wireless technology is to build security solutions that can be expanded if necessary. A strong security plan should have hooks built in for future modifications. If you follow the process taught in this book and build a solution in to your system from the beginning, you won't want to start from scratch every time a component of the system changes.

Our research will continue to evolve as well. Security professionals and wireless professionals alike will continue to investigate new ways to make the technology better, faster, smaller, cheaper, and more secure. Each subsequent version of WEP will be investigated. New flaws will be found, and new standards created. Research will be focused in each arena we discussed here. Everything from the virtual machines, to the browsers, networks, technologies, and devices used in wireless systems should be systematically torn apart from time to time and reinvestigated. The bulk of our research will focus on the software realm. Keeping abreast of changes in your systems and addressing them via application security are crucial because application security is the realm over which you have the most control. To protect your business assets, confidential information, consumer interests and proprietary code, you need to architect solutions that are creative yet concrete.

We expect increasing standardization in the wireless world. As this happens, architecting security solutions will become less tedious. As the industry becomes more streamlined, there will be room for security standardization and widespread acceptance. The nature of wireless security is global. Technologies across continents will likely merge and shape one another's growth. Wireless security will change to meet the global needs of anyone using a laptop with a wireless NIC, a PDA, or a cell phone. The wireless market will be redefined, and wireless security research will take a different shape. The same security principles will apply, but we will continue to have new and exciting obstacles to scale. We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.