Securing a wireless local area network : using standard security techniques

Abstract: Wireless equipment offers several possibilities which make it more attractive than the wired alternative. Meetings or temporary office spaces could be assigned with less consideration of the presence of permanent networking facilities. It also makes it possible for users to create ad-hoc networks simply by being within a certain range of each other, which facilitates information sharing. Since information is broadcasted in the air, it also requires stringent security measures. Vendors of wireless equipment have their non-standard security solutions which lock-in the acquirer. For this purpose I study standard security schemes which could be applied independent of the wireless device manufacturer. The techniques that I have chosen are IPSec, Kerberos and MS Passport. The study describes each technique from the perspectives of manageability, security, performance, compatibility, cost and ease of implementation. The result is a comparison of the studied techniques. I conclude with a recommendation to use a combination of IPSec and Kerberos to enhance the security of a wireless local area network and a reservation towards MS Passport.