Setting New Standards: Changes Are Coming to the World of WiFi, Where Safer and Speedier Wins the Race

WHILE WIRELESS SYSTEMS of all types (cellu-lar, Bluetooth, WiFi) have inveigled their way into many facets of everyone's life, WiFi in particular is still sometimes viewed askance by K-12 districts. Many technology officers worry that wireless signals are insecure and could afford those with malicious intent a way to gather private information. A second set of skeptics sees potential value in widespread wireless, but is cautious about the throughput speed when large numbers of users are active on the network at one time. Recent and upcoming changes to WiFi may reassure both groups. More Muscular Security With more than 300 commercial members, the Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-fi.org) is an industry-driven group that develops standards to permit WiFi systems to interoperate and provide new functionality. It's in the group's best interest to ensure users are satisfied, with the underlying goal that its members will then sell more WiFi products. One of the alliance's more recent standards is Wi-Fi Protected Access 2, or WPA2. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, provides network administrators with a high level of assurance that only authorized users can access the network. This process is known as authentication. WPA2 is based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (www.ieee.org) 802.11i wireless security standard, finalized in June 2004. The IEEE is a standards-setting body that also developed Ethernet network standards. This standard is specific to WiFi (802.11) and enhances security of these networks; 802.11i itself is built on the foundation of previous standards and protocols. The key takeaways related to 802.11i for K-12 technology folks are: 1) that an authentication server is necessary, and 2) that encryption is applied to the wireless traffic. The authentication server checks the identity of a user requesting wireless connectivity. If the identity information is invalid, that user is not allowed beyond the authentication server and therefore obtains no access to network resources. Think of it as looking through a peephole and, if you see something amiss, simply not opening the door. If you have a remote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS) server on your wired network, it may be used for the wireless network as well. If not, you will need to add one. Many wireless equipment manufacturers provide RADIUS software with their solutions, and some provide hardware, too. Be sure to ask about this when evaluating options. Encryption adds another layer of security. If someone is able to hack through or around the authentication process, encrypted data prevents that intruder from understanding the content. Rest assured that the method of encryption used in 802.11i (Advanced Encryption Standard, or AES) is much more difficult to break than earlier wireless versions and is the federal government's current standard for network encryption. New WiFi equipment comes with WPA2 on board, but it is not the default mode; it must be turned on by those installing the system. WPA2 is backward compatible with earlier encryption standards, so older WiFi equipment will continue to function in a mixed environment. However, be aware that if you intend to continue using older WiFi access points (APs), you will not be able to take advantage of the new security features in WPA2. If you are concerned about security, it would be wise to consider replacing or upgrading your access points, since the older ones remain vulnerable. A Need for Speed One of the principal complaints about WiFi networks is that they are slow--especially in comparison to wired networks. (Of course, keep in mind that the wireless local area network is just one component of an overall network connection that may have other chokepoints, such as a too-busy web server.) Physics partly dictates this in that signals dissipate more quickly when sent over the air compared to when sent via cable. …