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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Security-conscious groups ban Wi-Fi
From:       InfoSec News <isn () c4i ! org>
Date:       2002-01-30 9:47:32
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http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/01/29/wifi.htm

By Michelle Kessler
USA TODAY 
01/28/2002 

SAN FRANCISCO - Wi-Fi, a wireless technology touted by Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates as one of the greatest tech innovations in five
years, is being banned from some high-tech institutions because of
security concerns.

This month, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California
banned all wireless networks, including the most prevalent, Wi-Fi,
from its grounds due to "security vulnerabilities," directors said in
a newsletter. Other entities that handle sensitive data are
implementing or considering similar bans. And airlines are coming
under fire for using Wi-Fi in curbside baggage check-in systems.

The fear: Computer hackers can intercept data traveling through the
air if Wi-Fi networks aren't properly safeguarded. Wi-Fi defenders say
Wi-Fi is secure when properly installed. The problem: Only about 10%
of users install even basic safeguards, security experts say.

While tech companies rush to boost Wi-Fi security, the concerns may
slow the uptake of Wi-Fi by businesses and institutions worried about
sensitive data.

So far:

The Livermore lab, which conducts nuclear-weapons research among other
things, has banned all wireless networks from its campus. Its sister
lab, the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, does not allow them in
high-security areas and is considering a campus ban.


M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston canceled a Wi-Fi pilot program
last fall because executives worried that patient data might be
intercepted. The center plans to test a more secure version of Wi-Fi
this summer.


Aeronautical Radio, which provides communications services to airlines
and the government, is encouraging customers to move away from
Wi-Fi-type systems because of the security risk. The company hopes to
replace a wireless bag-matching network it operates for San Francisco
International Airport with a safer system. "Using (Wi-Fi) for
mission-critical operations is extremely dangerous," says company Vice
President Joe Weiss.


The U.S. Department of Transportation in December started assessing
security risks of new technologies, including Wi-Fi, in airports. The
concern: Hackers could get into wireless networks of airlines and
alter flight, baggage and passenger data. Airlines, including American
and Southwest, say they have safeguarded their systems. They won't
elaborate, citing security concerns.

Still, use of Wi-Fi is likely to spread, experts say, especially in
home networks. That's because it's an ideal way to wirelessly link
users to the Internet and to send data between consumer electronics
and personal computers.

People just need to remember that "there's a responsibility that comes
with using it," says C. Brian Grimm, spokesman for the Wireless
Ethernet Compatibility Alliance trade group.



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