How Much Wireless Security Is Enough?  By John Taschek  | 
Posted 2002-03-25 Email Print this article Print  Because 802.11
wireless is a broadcast signal, security problems are
exacerbated.  This is a multiple-choice question: if people are
so concerned about 802.11 wireless security, why have they
deployed $1.5 billion worth of the stuff?  (A) Theyre idiots;
(B) theyre ignorant; (C) they believe its secure enough; (D)
they dont care.  The answer most likely is C, and, chances are,
theyd be right, especially on limited-use deployments such as a
home network. In a business, however, direct access to a
corporate network can never be too secure, and 802.11 provides
less-than-minimal protection. But its really not much different
from cabled networks in that regard.  Think about it. Cables can
be tapped. Authentication is usually based on who sits where at
any particular workstation, and data access at the Layer 2 level
is usually done simply by subnetting the network. The same
issues have surfaced with wireless,