Network Security and Management Essay
Nowadays rapid development of technologies contributed to the creation of wireless nets and enabled the means for wireless communication. Wireless communication and data transfer became useful for numerous spheres of business and private life. All these systems are actually made up of a number of antennas, which are able to communicate with each other with the help of radio waves and these waves certainly remain invisible to humans. As time passes wireless technologies become more and more affordable and easy to utilize for individual users, as well as for companies. At the same time irrespective of the fact, whether an individual is using his private router at home or there is a huge organization, using a wireless network, it is important to take care of the security.
On the basis of the distance, covered by wireless technology, there are two categories of it: wireless personal area network (WPAN) and wireless local area network (WLAN). WPAN is usually rather small, calculated for the distance up to 10 meters. Various devices, like cameras, cell phones, printers, etc., are able to communicate using this network. “The range of a wireless local area network (WLAN) is, of course, greater than that of a WPAN. For example, most 802.11b implementations will have a speed of 1 Mbps and a range of about 500 meters (1500 feet). With closer proximity to the access point (AP), speeds of up to 11 Mbps can be reached.” (Weber, Bahadur, 2017, p. 3).
Under usual conditions, the speed of data transfer is about four or five megabytes per second with the help of a wireless network. The actual connection speed depends upon the distance to a great extent. This means that the center of a wireless area would be characterized by better performance in comparison to the periphery. Wireless network, as well as any other technology, has their advantages and disadvantages. Convenience is one of the important advantages of the wireless network. There is a possibility for the workers to access the resources of the network from any location if they have laptops. Mobility of this technology is the advantage appreciated by the companies, where the workers are to be outside of the office most of the work time. Mobility could also contribute to increasing their productivity. Installation of wireless networks requires less cost in comparison to wired networks. There is no need to purchase a lot of equipment and consider the positions of cables in the building. Talking about the disadvantages of wireless networks it is necessary to mention lower speed, still, it could remain unnoticed by some users. The reliability of these networks is defined by the presence of interference. However, the major concerns are certainly related to security. Nobody would like his personal or business information to be accessed by strangers. This is the reason why so much attention is paid to making the server absolutely protected.
The basis for information systems security is related first of all to the process of identification of new threats and vulnerabilities, then to estimating their impact, and finally the provision of those tools, which would help to control the security level of this information system. The risk analysis is made with the consideration of quantitative and qualitative data.
Wireless security means the prevention of unauthorized access to computers connected with the help of a wireless network. There were various security resources worked out for wireless networks, for example, WPA, WPA2, LEAP, PEAP, TKIP, RADIUS, etc. Irrespective of the concrete details about all these resources, they are all based upon certain principles. The best approach to protecting wireless networks is to encrypt the communication. Routers have special encryption mechanisms. The standard means of protection belong utilization of anti-spyware, antivirus, and firewall. Changing the manufacturer’s password for the router and control of the access of only concrete computers are also important steps in security. The most widely applied types of wireless security are Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WEP is often criticized, because the password, used by it, could be easily cracked, all that is needed is a basic laptop and corresponding software. This standard exists since 1999 and it was practically substituted with WPA in 2003. WPA proved to be a better alternative, contributing to the improvement of the security of wireless networks. Latter appeared WPA2, which is however not supported by some hardware.
VPN – virtual private networking – is considered to be effective security for those users, who communicate and transfer data with the help of wireless networks, while traveling or working away from their offices. VPN enables the users to connect to each other with the help of the encrypted tunnel even when using the public Internet.
The perspectives of wireless network security are rather positive. Most modern companies and enterprises apply networking technologies, as they are beneficial for productivity. Access to information is much easier with the help of wireless technologies and this is highly appreciated by most customers.
Wireless cards are often pre-installed in laptops. A laptop in combination with a wireless connection provides a whole range of additional opportunities either for personal needs or for work. At the same time, hackers have no difficulties finding such wireless networks and breaking them. In order to secure protection for important resources, companies use Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems or Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems.
The issues of wireless security are becoming more and more vital along with its popularity growth. Initially, there were not so many dangers, related to this technology. Along with the development of innovative technologies and wireless access, the methods, utilized by hackers, were also upgraded.
A lot of attention is nowadays paid to ZigBee technology, the major advantages of which are its low complexity and low power consumption. For those businesses, where the flow of data is limited, this is a perfect option. (Wei, 2016).
One more example of practically utilized technology is AdapSys – this is a “fundamental unit that can perform at a very high level of abstraction – a multi-level controller and sensor hub that is completely software reconfigurable, including basic and ancillary functionality.” (Glaser, Parkkila, 2016, p. 2). It was developed at the Center for Information Technology Research of the University of California. Each unit of this scheme is a separate complex controller or a part of a locally managed mesh. At the same time, it could be a part of a hierarchical control network. The same hardware constitutes this system. Its behaviors of it are fluid depending upon software adaptivity and reconfigurability.
Overall, the issues of wireless network security are utterly important nowadays, as the modern world utilizes this technology in numerous life spheres, including business organizations and private purposes. Taking into consideration the availability of this technology everywhere, there is a strong need to consider the correct ways of protection of the data and information transmitting process. The nature of security risk management is rather sophisticated and needs a lot of research and practice in order for all the problems to be properly addressed and solved. There were various wireless security technologies worked out, having their advantages and disadvantages. At any rate, technologies continue to develop and they are able to bring maximum comfort to the users only under the condition that the necessary level of their protection is secured.
References:
Brozova, H., Sup, L., Rydval, J., Sadok, M., Bednar P. (2016). Information Security Management: ANP based approach for risk analysis and decision making. University of Life Sciencies, Prague
Glaser, Steven D., Parkkila, Tommi. (2016). Sensor Networks in the Real World
Special Theme. Ercim News
Ma, Jun. (2016). Security Issues of Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Target Tracking. Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology
Weber, C., Bahadur, G. (2017). Wireless Networking Security.Microsoft
Retrieved from https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457019.aspx
Wei, Xiyuan. (2016). The Design and Completion of Remote Data Monitoring Based on ZigBee Wireless Sensor Network. Xi’an International University
