Wi-Fi Products Roll Despite Security Debate

A Cisco security problem punctuates arguments for and against widespread deployment of wireless networks.
By Gregg Keizer,
TechWeb News,
InformationWeek

The message from a wireless conference this week in San Jose, Calif., is clear: Wi-Fi is more or less business-ready. Sorry, make that more and less business-ready. Dueling speakers at the Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo appraised wireless data networks very differently.

Cisco Systems' general manager of Building Broadband Solutions division, Steve Nye, said problems that have kept large companies from going wireless largely have been solved. He touted new standards and product certifications as evidence that wireless security concerns are on the wane.

A bit of the punch of Nye's declaration was dissipated by news Wednesday that three of Cisco's wireless access points can be illicitly tapped. (A fix is available at Cisco's site.)

And Thursday, a former Intel exec blasted wireless as too insecure, too complicated, and too difficult to install. Les Vadazc, who retired from Intel earlier this year after a 25-year run with the chipmaker, said wireless security not is good enough. More to the point, Vadazc said most network administrators worry that Wi-Fi will open their networks to attacks and rogue users.

The ongoing debate didn't stop vendors from using the conference to ballyhoo new wireless products, of course.

On Thursday, NEC America launched a new wireless LAN product based on its IP PBX communications platform that allows voice communication over wireless networks. Using a combination of access points, wireless controllers, and systems-management software, it integrates with phones, laptops, PDAs, and tablet PCs to handle up to 14 simultaneous voice conversations over a single access point. NEC is pitching its wireless gear and management software to a variety of industries, including health care and hospitality.

Bluesocket, meanwhile, shipped its fourth-generation wireless appliance, the WG-5000 Wireless Gateway. The gateway features a pair of 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, an optional 1000 Base-SX Fibre interface, and solid-state storage capacity, and according to Bluesocket, can handle hundreds of hot spots and up to 1,000 concurrent users on a WLAN in large organizations. Companies deploying the network aggregator can let workers roam from one wireless subnet to another without requiring them to reauthenticate while still maintaining a secure environment.

Columbitec used the trade show to strut its new Client Application software development kit, which corporate and custom developers can use to integrate their software with a single-sign-on client for VPN remote access to WLANs.

Wireless software vendor Pctel rolled out its Segue Soft Access Module software at Wi-Fi Planet Wednesday. To be bundled with wireless adapters and licensed to 802.11 chip-set makers, Segue turns any laptop or desktop with a supported WLAN card into a wireless access point without the need for additional routers or hot-spot hardware. The company is targeting both home users--who will be able to set up wireless networks faster and more easily, said Pctel--and business users who want the ability to create a wireless access point on the fly for such chores as off-site meetings and ad-hoc group discussions.

In wireless news off the floor of Wi-Fi Planet, a research firm tagged Wi-Fi security as next year's hottest topic among security professionals. According to TheInfoPro, a research firm that surveyed about 200 security administrators at companies ranging from Citigroup to AT&T, four in 10 administrators are planning wireless security projects for 2004.

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