Living without wires
- Article 1 of 33
- SC Magazine, June 2006
Is WPA really the answer to the problem of insecure corporate wireless networks? Maybe, but as Rob Buckley discovers, it's not that simple
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One big additional advantage to implementing any form of WPA-Enterprise is that it will force the company to look at 802.1X authentication seriously. Forrester Research analyst Robert Whiteley says that 802.1X isn't just a wireless standard. "A universal authentication and security framework - applied to all networks - allows enterprises to more effectively share their network resources with users," he explains.
"Firms that have implemented 802.1X will be in a much better position to assert that they are appropriately managing network security. While those that stall 802.1X deployments too long risk being left behind with ineffective security and mounting regulatory pressures."
Cisco's enhancements to the WEP standards may be "good enough" for most purposes, but many organisations will want security as tight as possible. That may be through using WPA-Enterprise or WPA2-Enterprise; it may even be through WPA2 layered with a VPN and other security mechanisms. For many organisations, though, the best wireless security will be the one they can manage most easily and that offers the best level of interoperability.
At the moment, the most suitable for many enterprises will be WPA-Enterprise. But with interoperability of WPA2 devices improving and more and more devices supporting the standard, WPA2-Enterprise will soon become the method of choice for wireless encryption.
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