This new product video from AirTight Networks shows how easy it is to automate your wireless PCI vulnerability scanning. AirTight SpectraGuard Online can be configured and running in as little as 5 minutes and 3 easy steps. AirTight eliminates the need to send staff to remote locations with a mobile analyzer to conduct the routine PCI scan for rogue APs. IT professionals should find this refreshing.
Just how vulnerable are home WiFi networks? With the abundance of news stories about data privacy, hacking attacks, malware, phishing schemes, retail credit card breaches and the like, I am surprised to see such a large number of home users are still either unconcerned or unaware about securing their data. This video from Fox News, Washington DC shows that weak Wi-Fi security is still all too common in many home Wi-Fi networks.
AirTight Networks security analyst Rick Farina is featured showing how just easy it is for a hacker to find unsecured Wi-Fi in a residential neighborhood. Unfortunately, one thing that gets overlooked in these stories is just how often these same home Wi-Fi devices will show up in the corporate networks, unknowingly providing unecumbered access to sensitive data.
It seems that WLAN management and security are finally moving to the cloud. See the recent announcements by Aeohive (October 27) and Aruba Networks(October 29).
Enterprises, namely SMBs, now have multiple options and price points for managing their wireless networks. We saw this trend about 18 months ago when AirTight decided to release a SaaS verion of our wireless IPS, SpectraGuard Online.
With the introduction of these new offerings, it will be interesting to see if the ASV’s begin to offer wireless vulnerability scanning. They already offer cloud based vulnerability scanning services for the wired network, why not wireless??
Interesting piece on Wi-Fi security on the Today Show this morning. The Today Show aired a piece called “Is your Wi-Fi connection safe?”
The story shows war driving through a residential neighborhood to show that many residential Wi-Fi users still deploy their wi-fi devices without passwords, leaving their connections vulnerable to eavesdropping.
One common Wi-Fi security threat highlighted in this report showed just how easy it is for a hacker to intercept the connection of mobile users connecting to unsecured public Wi-Fi in places like a coffee shop, airport, etc. This is not the first time this subject has been covered. See simlar stories by CNN (August 11, 2009), Fox News (July 12, 2009).
The Today Show should have also included in their report the fact that many Windows based computers cache and probe for previously used wi-fi connections, making users even more vulerable because their computer may be connecting without the users knowledge to a hacker posing as an unsecured hotspot. See the story by Forbes (November 2008).
Douglas Haider compares the pros and cons of quarterly wireless vulnerability scanning vs. a full time wireless IPS to satisfy PCI DSS compliance requirement 11.1. Douglas writes:
“This requirement begs me to ask which is “better” option?Quarterly manual scans or a wireless IDS/IPS?
Maybe it’s the former IT auditor in me, but I think the best way to meet this requirement is by deploying a wireless IDS/IPS.
I agree, the goal of PCI is securing cardholder data than quarterly scanning can’t be taken seriously. Cost is obviously the biggest issue for merchants with multiple locations. But surely a hosted wireless scanning services with a low monthly fee would be cheaper AND provide round the clock security, wouldn’t it?
Devin Akin wrote a short post about AirTight SpectraGuard Online on CWNP. He likes our hosted wireless IPS service and seems to think we are on to something! Now how can I argue with the man. http://www.cwnp.com/community/articles/on_cloud_nine.html
My 12 yr old son was fiddling with his iTouch in the back seat of the car last week when it finally dawned on him that he could see several available wi-fi networks in our neighborhood from the front of the house . “Hey, I can connect to Marci’s wi-fi ! Can we sit in the driveway for a couple minutes so I can download some songs?”
Hmm.. Maybe I can use this to my advantage to get the kids in the car so we can actually be someplace on time. “Hey kids, better hurry, you only have 3 minutes to download songs before we go to the dentist.”
“There are several ways to scan your 802.11n air environment for nasty goings-on. At a glance, the options seem pretty straightforward. However, you need to look carefully under the hood to draw a true apples-to-apples comparison of the accuracy and cost of the various offerings.”
Interesting article from Joanie Wexler on the real costs of adding wireless intrusion to your WLAN. She compares a similar configuraion from several vendors.
