In-house IT managers are under pressure to tighten up their corporate wireless local area networks, it is claimed.
Alan McGibbon, Managing Director of Scalable Networks, says: ‘Any company can be a target for malicious attacks, but many aren’t doing as much as they could to prevent them. We see a real market, especially in financial institutions where data is of a particularly sensitive nature. However, it is important to remember that there are legal implications for any company that has an insecure network. Under the Data Protection Act, organisations could face hefty law suits if they haven’t taken reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is kept secure.’ Using ‘ethical hacking’ company Interrorem, Scalable says it will simulate hacking attacks to expose potential ‘entry points’ or security flaws within the enterprise network. It will also offer a consultancy service to advise firms on how to overcome these flaws and make their networks more secure. One of the recent trends that the Scalable service will be addressing and offering guidance on is how best to secure wireless networks. McGibbon adds: ‘As we’ve seen recently, wireless LANs are particularly vulnerable to attack ‘ anyone with a reasonable level of knowledge could stand outside a building with a wireless enabled laptop or PDA and hack into a company’s network within minutes. Added to this, WLANs are relatively expensive and slow. Are companies really prepared to remove the locks on their networks just so that employees can stay connected as they wander around the office with their laptops’ There seems little point in sacrificing both network performance and security for what is at best a neat trick.’ Part of the service is Unipalm, the UK distributor of e-security products. Kathryn Harding, Professional Services Manager at Unipalm, says: ‘Security has become a very pertinent issue of late, and many companies are being forced to take it more seriously. As the exclusive distributor of Interrorem services, we are forging partnerships with our resellers to work together to put IT managers’ minds at rest, knowing they have taken all the steps possible to ensure a secure network infrastructure. Scalable Networks already has a great reputation in the field of network consultancy and this alliance will clearly benefit both companies.
