Wireless Security: Awareness grows
Companies Wake Up To Concerns Over Mobile System Attacks 17 January 2002,
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As wireless communication devices become increasingly ubiquitous and the value of information traveling wirelessly increases, the implementation of security architecture is deemed paramount.
The rapid emergence of these mobile delivery channels will open new and exciting business opportunities for a large number of companies. Prominent examples include the higher degree of flexibility and consequent customer loyalty which financial service providers can derive from wireless devices, such as handheld PDAs and mobile phones, as well as the rising productivity and attractive cost-benefit equation gained from an increasingly mobile workforce.
However, a new study by Frost & Sullivan, the international marketing consulting company, cites security as one of the key obstacles to the full-scale deployment of wireless devices. “Growth in the European wireless security market will be fuelled as complacency and lack of security awareness gives way to growing recognition of the value of precautionary measures to safeguard corporate information. Robust security must be implemented so employees will be able to access sensitive corporate information with minimal risk,” reports Jose Lopez, Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
Wireless security represents the joint effort of several parties, ranging from - but not restricted to - mobile device vendors, mobile equipment manufacturers, security vendors, wireless operators, systems integrators and consultants, the organisation and, ultimately, the end-user.
The technology's infancy means the promised land is still some way off. Frost & Sullivan peg revenues accrued in the European wireless security market, comprising mobile devices security, wireless transmissions security and professional services, at $99.6 million in 2001.
Big Pie
As an increasing number of clients will demand wireless services, the author believes that only those security vendors able to provide solutions for a wireless environment will be able to grab a larger slice of the massive $793.9 million pie in 2005.
“Looking beyond 2005, this market is expected to maintain significant levels of growth and achieve a higher status than it currently holds as consciousness for securing wireless devices and transmissions rises and wireless technology successfully addresses the issues that are hindering the growth of this market at its nascent stage,” Mr Lopez notes.
Mr Lopez explains: “Professional services in wireless security, including integration and maintenance services, are usually part of a global wireless deployment and are rarely a stand-alone approach. As an example, organisations that deploy WLANs tend to opt for a solution that offers security without having to add it afterwards.”
Pegged at revenues worth 16.9 million in 2001, laptops constitute the largest sector within mobile device security. However, Frost & Sullivan expects higher growth in revenues to be generated by the PDA and mobile handset sectors, as functionality in such devices increases and handsets become readily available to the mass market to support certain technologies such as WPKI.
As the market reaches adolescence, standards issues must be resolved and the lack of interoperability between vendors’ equipment addressed before gaining mass market acceptance. However, Frost & Sullivan does not expect mobile handsets to contribute extensively to the revenues in mobile device security until they are able to support such technologies satisfactorily.
“The hype surrounding WLAN security seems to be the only concern when talking about wireless security. However, WAN security is a much larger area and WAN VPN is poised for faster growth. In addition, other technologies such as WTLS and WPKI will contribute to securing wireless communications from wireless devices, although they are only expected to gain market acceptance in late 2004 or 2005,” Mr Lopez comments.
“When deploying wireless security, it is important to consider all elements involved in order to implement true end-to-end security across the whole network. A point solution is simply not good enough. More importantly, the solutions deployed should be interoperable and scalable as vulnerable points are likely to multiply,” he continues.
Higher security
Mobile devices often operate in an environment far more hostile than stationary devices that reside within a protected corporate network. Therefore, a different set of security policies apply. Transmission of data is another key area for protection. For every method of transmission there are several methods of stealing or auditing that transmission and therefore the need to secure the wireless transmissions by deploying the appropriate security technologies. However, security in a wireless environment, if correctly implemented, should not be less secure than wired environments.
“There is a wide range of solutions in order to secure wireless environments. It is important to secure all elements of the wireless security spectrum, including mobile devices, wireless transmissions and networks, gateways and servers, and back-end systems. Many of the solutions available for the wired environment are also available for wireless users. Sometimes, these products need slight modifications to support wireless and at other times need to be built as a new product. However, it is important that wireless environments are properly secured” the study concludes.
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