The Network Security. Org

The planet is going wireless Relevant Products/Services from Verizon Wireless. Cell phones have long outnumbered landlines in developing nations, and recently took the lead in the U.S. Here, the FCC found 181.1 million cell phones compared to 177.9 million landlines at the end of 2004. U.S. desktop sales also are lagging laptops, most of which come with Wi-Fi (802.11), and there are growing millions of PDAs, BlackBerries and purpose-built wireless devices. It’s no wonder that cell phone carriers are in a rush to roll out their 3G data networks, and that municipal Wi-Fi and WiMAX (802.16) networks also are looming on the horizon.

While mobility is great for users, it can be a nightmare for I.T. security. In 2005, the first virus arrived that could jump from cell phones to PCs and, according to McAfee AVERT Labs, more than 200 malware programs appeared that had been designed for mobile devices.

Protecting enterprise Wi-Fi networks from these and other intrusions is a big challenge, but I.T. has a growing arsenal of products available to help, including those based on the 2004 Wi-Fi security standard (the IEEE’s 802.11i) and the Wi-Fi Alliance’s closely related implementation protocol, WPA2 (the Wi-Fi Protected Access 2). Advanced encryption and authentication mechanisms make these specs "actually more secure than most wired networks," according to Peter Firstbrook, research director for Gartner, covering information security and privacy. Bringing More Security to Wi-Fi Networks - -

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