At the time of this writing, there has been much coverage in the press regarding potential security holes in 802.11 security measures. In many instances in those press stories, the 802.11 network managers failed to enable even the most basic security measures built into 802.11. This is the equivalent of leaving one's door unlocked and has little to do with the security of 802.11. Any security planning should start with an equation that figures in what is to be secured (bank records, military intelligence, jokes from Aunt Nancy, and so on) and what is perceived to be the threat (foreign intelligence services, cyber bank robbers, the casual hacker, an eavesdropping neighbor) as measured by the resources (financial) available to defend against those perceived threats to network security.

The 802.11 specification has a number of measures, including WEP, built into it to protect a network from external threats. Should the network manager not feel that WEP is adequate to protect the network based on the above equation, a number of other measures can be added to the network to heighten the level of security in the network. This chapter has explored these added security measures in detail. It should be stated that no network is absolutely secure. With the addition of external security measures, 802.11 networks can be as secure as most wired networks.

By securing the 802.11 network, the odds of a Vo802.11 conversation being listened in on or fraud perpetrated via some form of network intrusion becomes rather...