Use of Wireless Devices

Part 1As the use of wireless devices continues to expand, the need to secure these connections must follow suit. Cell phones now have the capability to create “hot spots,” and many fast-food restaurants, hotels, and stores offer free wireless Internet connections.

Research and discuss the best practice list that an end-user should take into consideration when connecting to a wireless access point.As handheld devices continue to gain in popularity, the topic of wireless security continues to expand. It is now commonplace for companies to market a free Internet connection. Research and discuss the security concerns that these free hot spots can create for the end-user.

Part 2The CEO of your company has recently contemplated introducing a wireless element to the network, as well as a virtual private network (VPN) server for the salespeople and individuals telecommuting from remote locations. Although this seems like a good idea, the CEO is requesting more information because he is worried that this may create a security issue and network congestion and response time. Prepare a 4–5-page narrative to the CEO explaining what you would do to secure the new VPN to include an explanation of the VPN pre-shared key. Discuss the selection of wireless encryption methods, and compare and contrast WEP, WPA, and WPA2 to include an explanation of the bit strength for each.

Explain the concepts of wardriving and the pros and cons of broadcasting wireless SSID. Research packet capture tools, and explain how they can be used for network management and resource balancing as well as their use to analyze a virus in the process of propagating across your network in real time. Explain how the tool works and what information it is capable of capturing. Select 3 types of information that could be captured from a packet capture tool, and explain how you would use it to either identify a security violation or an opportunity for performance optimization.