Secure Wireless Network:
Companies are embracing secure wireless network technologies to increase productivity, provide more flexible work arrangements for their employees, and work more closely with their business partners. Wireless technologies include both local area and wide area systems. However, the multiplicity of networking options as well as computing platforms creates significant security issues, including:
- Different native security options for wireless local area networks (WLANs) than cellular networks.
- An evolving security framework for WLANs and interoperability issues between vendors.
- Outdated WLAN equipment that is insecure.
- The danger of rogue access points to secure a wireless network.
- Internet traversal for many wireless remote-access solutions.
- Employees using both managed devices and unmanaged devices, such as home computers and public terminals.
How To Secure Wireless Network?
The security architecture that addresses all these issues is an SSL virtual private network (VPN), particularly as implemented by Aventail. The company's Smart SSL VPNs provide a means of protecting every node, whether internal or external to the enterprise, leading to the concept of an inverted security model that does not depend on a hardened perimeter.
By taking advantage of installed browsers and the associated SSL security layer (secure wireless networking technology), companies can not only provide access through computers that have no VPN client software installed, but can also provide additional communications flexibility for systems with dynamically installed software.
Aventail Smart SSL VPNs also provide highly granular access, limiting users to specific application resources for secure wireless network.
To go beyond the realm of traditional SSL VPNs, Aventail secure wireless network has also developed the following capabilities to enhance security and to minimize deployment and management costs:
1. Aventail Smart Tunneling. A full IP secure wireless network tunnel created over SSL allows any application to function, even demanding ones like those using voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).
2. Aventail End Point Control. Aventail's Policy Zones accommodate a wide range of remote access secure networking scenarios and include items such as inspection of user computers to protect against malicious local software and clearing of caches at the end of sessions.
3. Integration with Existing Wireless Security Infrastructure. Aventail Unified Policy provides for integration with existing security infrastructure systems such as Remote Authentication Dial-In
User Service (RADIUS), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Active Directory, digital certificates, and two-factor authentication.
Prevalence of Secure Wireless Networks
Many companies are embracing wireless networking technologies to enhance the productivity of their workers, to improve customer service, and even secure wireless network to provide Internet access to visitors. Business travelers are taking advantage of wireless hotspots in public locations such as airports and restaurants, as well as enjoying the convenience of Wi-Fi in their hotel rooms and homes. How to secure a wireless network by using cellular networks for communications from almost anywhere.
Although most wireless-data usage has been with Wi-Fi (based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards), companies are increasingly using cellular-data services, which now offer secure wireless network near-broadband experience over wide geographic areas. Cellular-data usage includes smartphones, PDAs and laptops with PC Card modems, and laptops using phones as modems by means of a cable or Bluetooth connection. Cellular-data networks encompass multiple technologies, the most prevalent of which today include Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), and the CDMA2000 group of technologies. Despite the alphabet soup of names, they all have a common capability-the ability to support IP-based packet communications from almost anywhere.
Emerging technologies such as WiMAX promise even higher performance over the wide area. Whereas cellular-data networks offer rates approaching 1 Mbps, WiMAX vendors are hoping to provide higher throughput rates.
Many professionals use a combination of Wi-Fi and cellular data networks. Wireless networking not only increases productivity, but it also enhances personal lifestyles-employees can telecommute not just from home but from practically anywhere.
The multiplicity of connectivity options, however, raises significant security challenges for your organization, which needs to secure these connections while accommodating a wide variety of mobile computing platforms, providing a simplified user experience, and limiting access to specific resources, all within a system that can be managed easily.
Security Challenges of Wireless Connectivity:
The number one concern expressed by IT managers regarding wireless networking is security. This is justifiable, because radio signals are inherently subject to eavesdropping due to their extended propagation.
Fortunately, there are many effective approaches for securing both Wi-Fi and cellular-data connections.
