Wireless security

Over the past several months, IP Security VPN vendors have been pushing their gear as a way to protect wireless LAN traffic.

While the standard behind WLANs - Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) - includes security, that security was deemed vulnerable by independent researchers at University of California at Berkeley and AT&T Labs. So the IPSec VPN vendors leapt in saying their technologies, when used in conjunction with WEP, could protect airborne traffic that would otherwise be vulnerable to drive-by snooping.

That was last year and since then WEP has been improved to try to address the flaws. Also, in the meantime, users have come to like the idea of using VPNs over wireless networks as a way of securing wireless communications. But they may not be so fond of the complexity of setting up VPNs.

Enter Columbitech, which is offering a way of sending data securely over the air to let users access data on corporate servers more simply than with IPSec VPNs.

Columbitech requires users to install clients on remote wireless devices as well install a Mobile Authorization Server at central sites that the remote users need to access. These hardware devices are placed in separate network segments called the demilitarized zones.

When the remote user tries to access LAN servers via an Internet connection, the Mobile Authorization Server demands a user name and password to authenticate them, and this can be bolstered with digital certificates, smart cards or security tokens.

Columbitech uses wireless transport layer security as the underpinnings of its equipment. And it touts its ability to compress data at the application layer, meaning the data sent takes up less space, reducing the time it takes to transfer data over low-bandwidth wireless connections.

The equipment also has the ability to carry sessions over between wireless access methods. So if a user took their laptop out of range of a LAN wireless access point, a wireless connection through a service provider would pick up the session automatically. Reestablishing the link would be done unbeknownst to the user.

If you have concerns about wireless security, Columbitech might warrant a look.

Tim Greene is a senior editor at Network World, covering virtual private networking gear, remote access, core switching and local phone companies. You can reach him at tgreene@nww.com.

Network World VPNs archive
Past newsletters.