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[July 29, 2002]
Wavelink Solutions Improve Security Of Wireless
LANs, Handhelds
Wavelink Corporation announced
two solutions that dramatically improve the security of wireless local
area networks (WLANs) and handheld devices. The solutions provide for
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key rotation and the robust detection of
rogue access points anywhere on an organization's wireless LAN. Like all
Wavelink products, the security solutions are cross-vendor and support
legacy devices from leading mobile equipment providers, including Cisco,
Symbol, Fujitsu, Intermec, PSC, and others. The solutions enable
thousands of organizations already using wireless LANs and those
considering new deployments to dramatically enhance security in two of
the most vulnerable areas.
"These enhancements offer strong solutions to significant
security vulnerabilities of wireless LANs. The combination of robust
rogue access point detection with a simple solution to the WEP key
problem improves an already strong value proposition for Wavelink's
products," says Michael Disabato, wireless technology and network
security expert for the Burton Group.
"Wavelink's cross-platform WEP key rotation enhancement is well
suited for organizations looking for secure connections between their
Cisco Aironet wireless LAN infrastructure and legacy handheld devices
such as those found in retail and on the factory floor," said Bill
Rossi, vice president and general manager, Cisco Wireless Networking
Business Unit. "When paired with Cisco's IEEE 802.1x/EAP
standards-based security solution, customers gain a seamless,
interoperable and scalable solution that ultimately lets the right
people access the right data appropriately and securely from any device
anywhere on their network."
"Wavelink is offering a very innovative approach to wireless LAN
security by combining a strong wireless network management suite with
creative security techniques," said Ray Martino, vice president of
network products, Symbol Technologies, Inc. "Their approach will
fit into a variety of WLAN deployment scenarios. As Symbol offers a
complete wireless LAN system solution -- wireless mobile computing
devices, access points, software and services -- the Wavelink solution
nicely augments our application-specific wireless security
strategy."
Wavelink's WEP key rotation solution, which is already in trials at a
major financial services firm and a national retailer, offers an
immediate, simple and cost-effective technique to reduce the known
vulnerabilities of WEP in the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11b standards by
automating the rotation of WEP keys before a hacker has time to collect
sufficient data to break the encryption. The solution works with or
without an authentication server, and in single- and multi-vendor
environments. While this feature offers enterprises an immediate
wireless security solution, Wavelink continues to support all emerging
wireless security standards and endorses the work of wireless security
standards bodies.
Wavelink's rogue access point detection offering is the only one of
its kind that does not require special equipment or a dedicated effort
from an IT administrator. The solution uses existing wireless LAN
resources to constantly monitor airwaves for unauthorized users while
simultaneously surveying wired network traffic for activity from
unauthorized wireless devices. The solution also enables the
deactivation of rogue access points from a central management console.
Rogue access points, unauthorized access points that operate undetected
on a wireless LAN, represent a particularly dangerous security breach
because of their ability to provide direct, unauthorized access to
information on an organization's wired network.
"Although still growing, the wireless LAN market has been
struggling to overcome a setback since the WEP key problem surfaced.
Wavelink's offering provides a security framework for data privacy that
supports both legacy devices and new equipment without the requirement
of an authentication server," says Disabato of the Burton Group.
"Until recently, there had been little attention focused on the
need for robust network management and security solutions in wireless
LAN systems. However, the tremendous growth of these networks and a more
educated hacker population have made comprehensive systems and security
management absolutely critical," said David Bullis, president and
CEO of Wavelink. "Wavelink's cross-vendor network management
capabilities allow its customers to deploy and manage their increasingly
sophisticated wireless LANs with greater confidence and at lower
cost."
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