Conclusion

At the time of this writing, much has been discussed in the press regarding potential security holes in 802.11 security measures. In many instances, 802.11 network managers failed to enable even the most basic security measures built into 802.11. This is the equivalent of leaving a door unlocked and has little to do with the security of 802.11. Any security planning should be an equation figuring in what is to be secured (bank records, military intelligence, jokes from Aunt Nancy, and so on) to what is perceived to be the threat (foreign intelligence services, cyber bank robbers, the casual hacker, an eavesdropping neighbor, and so on) as measured by the resources (financial) available to defend against those perceived threats to network security.

802.11 has a number of built-in measures, including WEP, to protect a network from external threats. Should the network manager feel that WEP is not adequate to protect the network based on the previous equation, a number of other measures can be added to the network to heighten the level of security in the network. This chapter has explored three added security measures in detail. No network is absolutely secure. With the addition of external security measures, 802.11 networks can be as secure as most wired networks.