 simultaneous conversations with multiple Figure 6-18 Wi-Fi hot spot connected to Internet Internet via DSL facility Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.digitalengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website. Access Technologies Access Technologies 802.11 cards. Today it is common to see them deployed in coffee shops, airports, hotels, and conference centers. The technology has also gained an enormous following in the residence and home office markets because of the degree to which it simplifies home or small office networking. It has been slower to catch on, however, in the enterprise space-read on. Wi-Fi Security Any time data is transmitted over a wireless facility there are concerns about the confidentiality of the information being transmitted. The broad appeal of Wi-Fi has resulted in the incorporation into Wi-Fi of an encryp- tion technique known as WEP. WEP is an encryption technique with two variants: a 64-bit encryption technique and a 128-bit encryption scheme. 128-bit encryption is naturally more secure and is the most widely used technique. Gaining access to a WEP-enabled system requires the use of a WEP key, which is a decryption code required for the system to recognize and allow a user access. One of the reasons Wi-Fi has been slow to deploy in the enterprise environment is its inherent vulnerability. Consider the fol- lowing scenario: A well-meaning employee purchases a hotspot at a local office supply store. The employee installs it at the office as a favor to his or her colleagues, but fails to enable a WEP key. The hotspot is now wide open-and anyone driving by with a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop can gain access to the hotspot-and to the enterprise network that lies behind it. It is critical, therefore, that all hotspots be WEP-enabled. Beyond Wi-Fi Wi-Fi is a remarkable technology. It nominally offers 11 Mbps (or 54 Mbps) to the user over service radii of approximately 30