Cisco enhances WLAN security
Computerworld -
As expected, Cisco Systems Inc. has beefed up security for its wireless LAN product line to help prevent hackers from hijacking a user's identity during an authentication session.
Cisco today will start offering a free software patch that will allow users to add Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) protection to existing 802.11b or Wi Fi wireless LAN systems. PEAP helps defeat intruders by making it hard for hackers to run a "man in the middle" attack during an authentication session.
Cisco bundled the PEAP patch with an upgrade to its VPN/Security Management Solution and its Access Control Server, which provide security software, such as VPNs, to both wired and wireless networks. Microsoft Corp. included support for PEAP in its Windows XP Service Pack-1, which was released earlier this month (see story).
Cisco is also part of an industrywide group that plans to offers users tougher encryption than the current built-in WLAN Wired Equivalent Protocol by the end of the year (see story). The group includes Microsoft Corp., WLAN chip suppliers and hardware manufacturers.
PEAP does require the use of electronic certificates, which are exchanged by the user with a server during a log-in session. That limits the use of the new software to enterprises that use certificates, according to Craig Mathias, an analyst at FarPoint Group, in Ashland, Mass. Mathias said that "probably a small number of enterprises" use certificates to protect WLAN.
While Mathias viewed PEAP as a step in the right direction, he also cautioned that "there is no such thing as perfect security and there is a confusing landscape of security solutions." He said enterprises need to decide the level of protection they want to protect various classes of data and develop a security plan that best meets those requirements.
Read more about mobile and wireless in Computerworld's Mobile and Wireless Knowledge Center.
Mobile/Wireless
Additional Resources



White Papers & Webcasts
Accelerating Your Mobile Workers: Controlling the Uncontrollable
Today's workforce is truly mobile. Unlike the managed environment of the office LAN, remote users face many challenges to being productive while out...
eGuide: Enterprise Security
Smart Security Strategies for 2010. Read now!
Managing Laptops Outside the Office
Learn how you can reduce costs by tracking mobile computers no matter where they are located.
How to Improve Remote User Satisfaction and Maximize ROI by Using SSL VPNs
Download this white paper today!
Mobile U Webinar
Watch Now!
The New Mobile Order
Download Now
4G Ahead Video Program
Uncover the features and benefits of the two leading 4G technologies for enterprises considering future deployment.
WAN Application Delivery for Executives
Learn how to simplify server and application administration without creating performance problems for distributed users.
Horror stories: Managing IT Across Multiple Locations
How one extra sharp IT manager eliminates daily agony, hassle and repetition.

