Wireless Security Is Different

Wireless security requires slightly different thinking from wired security because it gives potential attackers easy transport medium access. This access significantly increases the threat that any security architecture must address. Wireless networking broadcast nature makes traditional link-layer attacks readily available to anyone. Wireless network security based on the IEEE 802.11 standard has received a lot of negative attention, since it is coupled with several design errors and security problems. IEEE 802.11 uses spread-spectrum signaling technology, which the military depends on for secure communications. Newer architectures are becoming available to dramatically increase the security of 802.11-based networks.