3 ways to fortify your wireless position

You would never leave the office for the weekend with a door unlocked or a window open.  Yet, many small businesses and the majority of homes with Wi-Fi do just that.  A Wi-Fi router that is not configured to use its security measures is a welcome sign for intruders.  Why?  This potential security opening rarely reaches people's radar – largely because of a of awareness to the threats presented by such a breach.
 

What your internet is doing when you are not around

One such threat is that freeloaders will use your home or business network as a free internet connection.  Some view this as an altruistic measure, providing free web access to all.  Please, resist the urge to indulge your inner flower child.  Those who would abuse your trust will use your connection for pornography, downloading copyrighted material, or breaking any number of laws.  In the United Kingdom there is heated debate over the recent Digital Economy Bill, which holds the owner of the connection to the internet accountable for copyright infringement, even if the user committing the act was using Wi-Fi anonymously.

Burglary without leaving the parking lot

Even more devious than internet traffic of ill-repute is the threat of wireless burglary.  A Wi-Fi connection is more than merely a gateway to the internet - it is an access point into your computer network. Criminals with unsecured wireless access are free to browse the network for any other points that may not be secured. This may mean that they can print on any shared printers, access the hard drives of workstations, or even download sensitive business data from shared network drives.  Criminals may sell this information for profit, use it for extortion purpose, or commit identity theft.  All of this can be done from the comfort of their getaway car, courtesy of an unsecured Wi-Fi signal.

Fortifying your wireless position

The threats posed by freeloaders and criminals, while grave, are easily mitigated. Wireless security neglect is quite common. Implementing even the most basic security measures will send evildoers looking for an easier mark. There are three basic measures that will keep your business safe:
 

1.       Encrypt traffic– Make sure the traffic that passes through your wireless router isn’t an open book for anyone who might be interested in it.  There are a variety of encryption methods, but WPA 2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2.0) seems to be the de facto standard.

2.       Require a pass key– Ensure that users have been given access to log on wirelessly.  WPA 2 encryption is based on the supplied pass key, so it will satisfy both requirements.

3.       Turn off SSID broadcasting– The Service Set Identifier is used by your wireless router to identify traffic that is intended for it. It is what is entered when first making a connection to the network.  Networks often broadcast this ID periodically to help users identify the network. If your network is secure you don’t want to tip off unauthorized users of its presence, so this feature should be disabled.

These measures will keep your business safe from wireless attacks and are quite easy to implement.  No IT professional required, just have a read through your wireless router’s instruction manual.

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