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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: slacker711 who wrote (13854)	8/12/2001 2:53:32 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 196568

AP News - Security Experts Warn on Wireless August 12, 2001 Security Experts Warn on Wireless By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 12:49 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- Business travelers eager to plug their laptop computers into wireless Internet networks cropping up at hotels, airports and coffee shops need to be on guard: their e-mail and Web browsing can be easily intercepted, security experts warn. The problem, they say, is that these new networks, which charge an hourly fee for wireless access to the Internet, aren't protected by encryption and are vulnerable to hackers. ``When you sit in an airport and use your laptop you might as well be broadcasting to anyone within listening distance,'' said Jason Sewell, a digital forensics specialist at security firm Predictive Systems (news/quote). Wireless networks -- known sometimes as Wi-Fi -- are taking off. American Airlines offers them in all but two of its frequent-flier lounges at airports nationwide, and some entire airports are rigged for wireless connections. The networks are also popping up in hotels, and the Starbucks (news/quote) chain is introducing them at its coffee shops. Market-leader MobileStar, based in Richardson, Texas, provides about 650 wireless network areas for American Airlines, Starbucks and several hotel chains. Their networks have no encryption at all, so almost everything sent from a customer's laptop can be picked up by a nearby hacker. Internet Security Systems (news/quote) co-founder Chris Klaus said it takes no special software to intercept data off a Wi-Fi network, and is easy to do. MobileStar chief technology officer Ali Tabassi said users should install personal firewall programs and use Virtual Private Networking software offered by employers. A VPN creates a secure pipeline between a remote user and the employer's network. But many companies don't offer them to employees, and security experts say business travelers often opt for the easiest access, at the expense of security. ``Nothing is 100 percent secure,'' said Bill Carroll, waiting last week at the American Airlines frequent-flier lounge at Reagan National Airport. ``But once again, you have to ask yourself, 'What risks am I willing to take compared with what benefits I think I need from the system.' ``It's always that trade-off,'' he said. Jorge Murillo, a regional sales manager for a telecommunications company, said he would use the new wireless lounges, but only for routine communications. ``Anything I regard as sensitive or confidential information I would not send over the wireless network,'' said Murillo, who also was waiting at the American Airlines lounge. MobileStar's Web page touts its service as secure, but Tabassi acknowledged there is no notice in airport lounges or coffee shops informing consumers that their connections are not secure. He said the company's Web site tells people they should use a VPN, and that its phone representatives will give that advice when a customer calls. Tabassi said he was open to posting prominent notices wherever users access the network. But he said the company should not be responsible for security on its networks because the Internet carries security risks. ``Everyone who is touching the Internet should know that it is wide open to everyone,'' Tabassi said. ``People should think of it as a pay phone or a cell phone, in a public place.'' Richard Smith of the University of Denver's Privacy Foundation said that attitude was unfair. ``I think the companies are being pretty irresponsible here,'' Smith said. ``It's really their obligation to make this a secure and private system.'' ^------ On the Net: MobileStar: mobilestar.com Copyright 2001 The Associated Press