Chip-maker Intersil said last week that it has made sure
its PRISM line of Wi-Fi silicon now have software compatible with the all the
current Microsoft Windows operating systems: 98, 2000, Millennium Edition (ME)
and XP. The company has also partnered with 802.1X security provider Funk
Software of Cambridge, Mass. to make sure the PRISM software’s support for
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) will "seamlessly integrate" with Funk’s
Odyssey Client software for 802.1X authentication. (WPA is the standard set
forth by the Wi-Fi Alliance as a stepping stone between the Wired Equivalent
Privacy (WEP) security built into 802.11 products today and the future 802.11i
security standard, expected by the end of the year.) Funk recently received
a market engineering award from analysts at Frost
and Sullivan for "successful market penetration."
Intoto of Santa Clara, Calif. has announced
the iGateway SecureAP and iGateway SecureAP-PLUS, its first embedded security
software packages for OEMs making access points for the hotspot market. The
software uses 802.1X authentication and provides protection against rogue access
points and network intrusion. Future versions are expected to support WPA and
user roaming. The PLUS version comes with a built-in authentication server,
so there’s no need for a separate RADIUS server.
Interlink Networks of Ann Arbor,
Mich., makers of the Secure.XS 802.1X solution
for both Windows and Linux operating systems (which can be embedded into appliances),
has entered a deal to integrate San Mateo, Calif. based Bluesoft’s
AeroScount WLAN location/positioning system. By doing so, Secure.XS’s 802.1X
authentication will take a user’s location into account before allowing full
network access. The company’s say they are doing this to prevent so-called "drive-by
hacking." This solution is in trials and they expect it to be commercially
available in the third quarter.
Still in the realm of location-based wireless, Newbury
Networks of Boston has released a new version of its WiFi Watchdog software
for securing against wireless intruders. It will still offer a specialized edition
for major enterprise deployments. This new $9, 995 "standard edition"
comes packaged with four of Newbury’s LocalePoints, used for monitoring the
airwaves, and all the bells and whistles of the original WiFi Watchdog
product, which layers over top of Newbury’s Locale Server.
Finally, Natick, Mass. market research firm Sage Research published findings this
week from a round table it held on April 7 with several IT and telecom "decision
makers and influencers." Among the sad revelations were that (despite there
being many products to thwart intruders being on the market) few of the participants
are running any kind of intrusion detection system on their networks — even
though most are extremely apprehensive about WLAN security. They’re so nervous
that many haven’t deployed WLANs at all. They cite the need for stronger encryption
capabilities before they’ll use wireless.
