Click to return to BOL home page
Banker Store eCard Exchange Vendor Connect Career Connect Learning Connect Bankers Information Network
Home Compliance Lending Operations Security Marketing Technology/eBanking
Top Stories Bankers' Threads BOL Conferences CrimeDex Em@il Education FREE Briefings Record Retention

   

















    Site Map

    Our Sponsors

    Home



Lending Gurus
Operations Gurus
Security Gurus
Marketing Gurus
Technology Gurus
eBanking Gurus

Print Friendly! Email This Article! Discuss NOW!


Securing Wireless Networks
by Lawrence Levine, Managing Director, SecurePipe, Inc.


Question: We are using wireless; is there any way to really secure it?

Answer: Due to the large broadcast area of even modest wireless equipment, you need to be as secure as possible. There are several steps that you can take.

First, by default most wireless units broadcast their service set identifier (SSID). You should disable this. Also, be aware that default SSIDs (such as "router" "LinkSys", etc.) are well known by hackers, so make sure yours is unique.

Most wireless equipment, utilizes WEP (wireless encryption protocol). This is typically available at 64-bit, or 128-bit strengths. When performance is not an issue, always select 128-bit.

But, WEP is known to be weak and even the 128-bit is crackable given enough time. To foil these attempts, make sure you change your encryption key at frequent intervals; if possible, weekly.

While WEP is widespread, new encryption methods are readily available. Wireless security tends to be a cat and mouse game with hackers. Keep your hardware current to ensure you can take advantage of the newest technologies.

Another method used to secure wireless access points (WAP) is MAC address filtering. With this technique, all laptops, workstations, and/or PDAs that will be using the WAP are pre-registered with their unique network equipment address (known as a MAC). While MAC filtering will keep out a casual intruder, a sophisticated hacker can spoof an existing known MAC and gain access.

The best overall solution for securing wireless is end-to-end encryption. In this scenario, a VPN device is either placed in front of the WAP, or integrated into it. Users are required to use a VPN client to connect to the network. All traffic is then encrypted. In order to hack in, an intruder will have to crack the VPN encryption before being able to either listen to or inject network traffic.

SecurePipe delivers a complete network security solution -- the expert staff, innovative technology and the examiner compliant processes you need to dramatically improve your security posture and reduce costs. SecurePipe makes strong network security affordable by delivering 24x7 managed network security at a fraction of the cost of doing it in-house. To learn more, contact us toll-free at 1-877-248-1632 or email sales@securepipe.com to arrange a FREE security assessment to learn how your financial institution can benefit from managed security services.

First published on BankersOnline.com 8/2/04
Home | Compliance | Lending | Operations | Security | Marketing | Technology | eBanking
BOL Archives    Privacy Policy    Important Disclaimer   Recommend This Site !   Contact Us


BankersOnline is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors. Advertisers and sponsors are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankersOnline FREE to all banking professionals. Support our advertisers and sponsors by clicking through to learn more about their products and services.