Wireless networks have popped up in every town, every city and almost every corporation. Our government relies on thousands of networks nation-wide due to their flexibility and ease of installation.

However, wireless networks are also a way for potential attackers to gain access to whole clusters of computers that are constantly transmitting sensitive data. All it takes is for an attacker to acquire a network key and they effectively have all that is required to destroy corporations and steal identities.

In general, the importance of wireless access key security is grossly under-estimated. Many home users have installed networks for their own convenience, only to find out that they have been cracked in seconds due to the much-flawed WEP security protocol.

This has allowed hackers to eavesdrop on all information that is being sent over the network from a nearby physical location in relative safety. This has allowed many “war-drivers” to effectively invade whole neighborhoods of wireless networks and take copies of potentially dangerous information.

In a corporate world, wireless networks are ordinarily secured to an extent where access is restricted to authorized computers only. This has done a great deal in limiting drive-by attackers from penetrating the network, but there is a great deal of negligence when it comes to ensuring that wireless network range is limited to specifically targeted areas. As a result, attackers can target even corporate wireless networks and in some cases, even the apparently strong security can be breached.

Wireless network encryption is only part of the issue as it is not a case of inadequate technology, but over-reliance on a single point of defense – i.e. wireless network keys. Any experienced security analyst will be the first one to advocate the use of multiple points of defense, from firewalls to intrusion detection systems and of course by using third party encryption products, such as the freely available Gold Lock Desktop.