Know
the hidden risks of Wi-Fi
SUMIT DESHPANDE
ET
CONTRIBUTORS[ THURSDAY, MARCH 09, 2006 01:44:44 AM]
Most of us in the business world today, especially those who travel,
can’t live without our laptops and readily available Wi-Fi connections.
All new laptops today have Wi-Fi built in as a default configuration
and if you want one without wireless, it’s a special order. Our
world has certainly changed.
Wireless
networks offer tremendous benefits, but also present significant
risks, particularly around ‘end-point security.’ As more and more
mobile workers use their laptops to connect to corporate and public
Wi-Fi networks, IT departments — as well as end-users — will need
to be aware of the risks and implement the right mitigation plans.
Most
Wi-Fi security stories focus on the over-the-air (OTA) data encryption,
wireless access control, or intrusion prevention. Although these
are important issues, there are hidden risks with wireless that
may not be well known, but still present some serious security
challenges.
Two
of them are (a) working in ad hoc mode and (b) dual homing — the
simultaneous connection to two networks.
Wireless
Network Interface Cards (NICs) operate in two modes — infrastructure
and ad hoc. Infrastructure mode is when you connect to an access
point, perhaps in your office, at home, or at a public hotspot.
Ad hoc mode allows you to make your laptop behave like an access
point and have others connect to you through a peer-to-peer wireless
connection.
Wireless
laptops in ad hoc mode are prime targets for hackers to connect
to and steal information because it is easy to do so and almost
undetectable. Interestingly, many users inadvertently have their
wireless NIC set to ad hoc mode by default because that’s how
the laptop manufacturer set it, or they may have turned it on
before but forgot to switch back to infrastructure mode.
An
even scarier scenario occurs when a hacker sets his laptop as
an ad hoc connection with the same name as a legitimate network,
causing unsuspecting users to connect to it thinking it is a valid
Wi-Fi network, and divulge important information such as passwords
or credit card numbers.
Wired
+ Wireless Dual Homing
Most
laptops today have two NICs — one for a wired connection (Ethernet,
dial-up) and one for Wi-Fi. This enables the laptop to be dual
homed, or connected to two networks at the same time.
If
the Wi-Fi card is set to ad hoc mode, and the user logs on to
the wired network, hackers can easily connect to the laptop via
the ad hoc mode and then get access to the wired portion of the
enterprise network using the dual homed laptop as a conduit.
Here
are some simple steps to help you avoid these risks:
1.
Turn off your wireless ad hoc mode, and don’t connect to other
ad hoc networks, unless you have a very good reason to do so —
perhaps to exchange information among trusted people in a secure
meeting room. The rule of thumb, however, should be: don’t use
ad hoc networks!
2.
Before connecting to your corporate wired network, disable your
wireless card, or check that your wireless NIC isn’t in ad hoc
mode and isn’t connected to any wireless network.
3.
Ask your IT department for the corporate wireless usage policy,
and adhere to it. The policies are intended to protect corporate
information and all mobile users share that responsibility.
And
here are some things IT departments can do to ensure secure and
manageable wireless computing:
1.
Don’t look at wireless as a separate island of technology; it
is an integral part of your enterprise.
2.
Enterprise IT management must include the security and management
of wireless end-devices — both in connected and disconnected modes.
3. Utilise a comprehensive enterprise management solution that
provides automatic policy enforcement across wired and wireless
systems.
Network
connectivity will continue to be a hybrid of wired and wireless.
Adhering to best practices will help secure our devices and prevent
corporate information from being compromised. So, the next time
you connect to a Wi-Fi network, make sure you’ve taken care of
the hidden risks before you launch into the wireless cyberspace.
The
author is VP, Office of the CTO,
Computer Associates
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