thieves

Security front line shifts again

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

The word has gotten out: finding corporate networks not protected by multiple layers of firewalls, intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems has become far more difficult. Criminals and thieves, having found that the full frontal assault is bearing less fruit, have shifted the focus of their attacks to systems and locations less well-protected. Where's the new front in hacking? Mobile, wireless, and home systems that may be less secure, but that still use a VPN to reach back inside the corporate firewall. If you have users logging in from afar, it's time to make sure that their client hardware is as protected as you want your servers to be.

For more on the newest front:
- read the article at Enterprise IT Planet

Editor's Corner

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

A Season of Growth
It seems that this week's news is all about growth: The PDA market is doing it; the GSM industry wants more of it; it can't happen without better search capabilities; because it's happened, thieves want all your money.

The fact is that rapid growth in any market brings terrific opportunities. We're seeing those in the new capabilities offered by carriers and device manufacturers and in the ability to build new applications on ultra-portable platforms. Rapid growth also carries costs, and we see those in confusion over deployment plans and the ever-present thief's recognition of a new and fertile ground for his efforts. Fortunately we've learned lessons from earlier technology markets, and the experience gained from mobile computing and mobile phone deployments will help ease the transition to wireless devices in the enterprise. With products like Windows Mobile 6.0 easing the transfer of knowledge from one platform to another, we stand a fighting chance of having wireless market growth be the smoothest technology transition in a generation. -Curt

QUICKLINKS: New worm targets mobile phones; Intel issues patches for wireless hardware, software vulnerabilities; Much more...

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:00:50 -0400

New worm targets mobile phones. Article

Intel issues patches for wireless hardware, software vulnerabilities. Article

Non-profit going solar with WiFi networks. Article

Handheld device sales declining due to better cell phone capabilities. Article

Wireless networking boards a train out west. Article

Nokia phone most popular with thieves. Article

Smartphones beating out PDAs, laptops in usefulness. Article

How to stop WiFi thieves

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:01:38 -0400

A good first step to securing your WiFi access is to make sure you get a good, enterprise-grade access point and router in place. Then it's time to settle down and secure the APs you've plugged in. That requires some authentication effort -- encryption and adding on some virtual local area networks (VLANs) isn't a bad move either. The next step up are sensors that can evaluate the RF domain for foreign and rogue devices. If unauthorized access is detected, an automatic alert is sent to network administrators.

For more on securing WiFi from thieves:
- read this Networking Pipeline article