Is a WLAN Secure ?
Whether or not WLAN is secure depends on multiple factors of implementation configured by the network administrator. However, by default it has multiple security vulnerabilities. So the security team should consider all the factor and configure accordingly.
Following are 3 ways to ensure best security practices :-
- Encryption: Ensure that the network is using highest level of encryption
- Authentication: There are multiple authentication mechanism, its good to use protocols that rely on 802.1x standards like WPA-EAP (Wireless Protected Acess-Extensible Authentication Protocol) for organisation as this method ONLY gives access when correct username and passwords are inputed. And usernames and passwords are not shared and are individual specific only.
- Monitor Rougue APs: The Rougue APs (Access Points) are similar set of networks that user can unknowingly connect to where all the activities of the user will be tracked and monitored by the bad actor who set up the network. Hence the security team can be on the lookout for such configured networks occasionally.
WLAN Full Form
WLAN stands for Wireless Local Area Network. WLAN is a local area network that uses radio communication to provide mobility to the network users while maintaining the connectivity to the wired network. A WLAN basically, extends a wired local area network. WLAN’s are built by attaching a device called the access point(AP) to the edge of the wired network. Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless network adapter which is similar in function to an ethernet adapter. It is also called a LAWN is a Local area wireless network.
The performance of WLAN is high compared to other wireless networks. The coverage of WLAN is within a campus or building or that tech park. It is used in the mobile propagation of wired networks. The standards of WLAN are HiperLAN, Wi-Fi, and IEEE 802.11. It offers service to the desktop laptop, mobile application, and all the devices that work on the Internet. WLAN is an affordable method and can be set up in 24 hours. WLAN gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network. Most latest brands are based on IEE 802.11 standards, which are the WI-FI brand name.
History
A professor at the University of Hawaii who’s name was Norman Abramson, developed the world’s first wireless computer communication network. In 1979, Gfeller and u. Bapst published a paper in the IEE proceedings reporting an experimental wireless local area network using diffused infrared communications. The first of the IEEE workshops on Wireless LAN was held in 1991.