Chapter 4. Devices

Chapter 4. Devices

Everything that can be invented has been invented.

Charles H. Duell, commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

Device security begins with one simple concept: Treat your device as you do your wallet. The single biggest security risk in using mobile or wireless devices is that it can be easily lost or stolen because of its small form-factor. Some devices have a locking feature that allows them to be secured by a simple PIN. This does not protect the data stored on the device but does prevent the person sitting next to you in a dark movie theater from accidentally making a call on your phone.

Devices are a challenging area of our investigation into wireless security. They are, by far, the most likely of all components in our research to evolve and change rapidly. The voluminous impending changes make this chapter difficult to structure. We have not yet progressed to a time when all wireless networks are standard and compatible (as wired networks are). We have 802.11x networks, Bluetooth on the horizon, and iMode in Asia, but none has proven its worth or market share across the globe. Devices are still varied and nonstandard. Phones, PDAs, and wireless-enabled laptops are three categories of devices. Within each category, you find myriad differences and nuances, making each device unique and making security planning for such a wide audience exponentially more difficult.

This chapter investigates a few PDAs and a phone. Because OSs are largely tied to vendors at this stage of wireless technology evolution, we define categories of PDAs or phones by their OS/vendor labels. Wireless-enabled laptops are not explored here because they do not represent the same limited-device platforms as the former categories. They do represent a significant portion of devices used to connect wirelessly to networks and the Internet, but their uniqueness lies in their connection methods, not in the devices themselves. PDAs and phones represent a distinct breed of devices.

 



Wireless Security and Privacy(c) Best Practices and Design Techniques
Wireless Security and Privacy: Best Practices and Design Techniques
ISBN: 0201760347
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 73

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