Pirate Wireless Networks - Brief Article

California CPA, Jan, 2001

According to the Gartner Group, pirate wireless networks are eavesdropping on data and passwords that cross the backbone of any centralized Internet network. With 127 million adults in the United States using the Internet, pirate wireless networks pose an increased security threat.

These networks are usually cobbled together from components that employees have available to them in IT departments. To achieve the insidious practice of tapping into secure data, wireless pirates need only to dial into the wireless network and then intercept or eavesdrop on backbone activity on a traditional Internet network of servers and desktops.

Gartner advises IT users and vendors to thwart pirate wireless network activity by changing security codes on the network; isolating the path by which wireless users access your network; support departmental wireless networks; implement Media Access Control (MAC) address tracking to control network security; and monitor access logs. Access logs point to source addresses and make it easier to identify attempts to penetrate network log-in security.