Validating identity problem on wireless
A hacker could sit out in the parking lot and gather information from it through laptops and/or other devices, or even break in through this wireless card–equipped laptop and gain access to the wired network.
Anyone within the geographical network range of an open, unencrypted wireless network can "sniff", or capture and record, the traffic, gain unauthorized access to internal network resources as well as to the internet, and then use the information and resources to perform disruptive or illegal acts.
The current standard is WPA2; some hardware cannot support WPA2 without firmware upgrade or replacement.
WPA2 uses an encryption device that encrypts the network with a 256-bit key; the longer key length improves security over WEP.
There were relatively few dangers when wireless technology was first introduced, as the effort to maintain the communication was high and the effort to intrude is always higher.
The variety of risks to users of wireless technology have increased as the service has become more popular and the technology more commonly available.
Hacking methods have become much more sophisticated and innovative with wireless.However, there are effective countermeasures (like disabling open switchports during switch configuration and VLAN configuration to limit network access) that are available to protect both the network and the information it contains, but such countermeasures must be applied uniformly to all network devices.Due to its availability and low cost, the use of wireless communication technologies increases in domains beyond the originally intended usage areas, e.g. Such industrial applications often have specific security requirements.In-Stat MDR and META Group have estimated that 95% of all corporate laptop computers that were planned to be purchased in 2005 were equipped with wireless cards.Issues can arise in a supposedly non-wireless organization when a wireless laptop is plugged into the corporate network.
Enterprises often enforce security using a certificate-based system to authenticate the connecting device, following the standard 802.1X.