Page 47 - Cyber Warnings

According to a study from Javelin Strategy and Research, 15.4 million victims lost roughly $16
billion from credit card theft in 2016, which represents six percent of all consumers worldwide.
And, it’s only expected to increase in 2017.

The study also showed an increase in identity fraud via Wi-Fi attacks with hackers posing as the
MiTM. So, these types of attacks continue to drive compliance mandates, like PCI DSS.

PCI has some specific, but not all too realistic, standards for securing Wi-Fi networks, such as
my favorite: “performing regular scans for rogue APs on a quarterly basis.” Really, we should
just check for rogues every 90 days?

As you can see, compliance is not synonymous with security. And this speaks to the challenges
companies and consumers face when dealing with Wi-Fi. Hackers are reaping the benefits of
the industry’s slow transition.

The standards are not strong enough, organizations don’t yet realize how to automate Wi-Fi
protection, and consumers roll the secure Wi-Fi connection dice.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Any organization can now afford to proactively defend their
airspace and eliminate the Wi-Fi network risks for employees, partners and customers.

So, make sure that you’re protecting your Wi-Fi network with WIPS technology that utilizes the
marker packet detection method and eliminates false positives and automatically assess
connected APs and Wi-Fi clients to determine if they’re authorized, rogue or external.

Now that we’ve covered how Wi-Fi hacks happen and how organizations can protect
themselves with automated WIPS/WIDS, our final installment will look at how to protect a
network from connected devices and IoT.

Join me next month as I explore how the world of connected devices and rapidly evolving IoT
threats will impact Wi-Fi security.

About the Author

Ryan Orsi is Director of Product Management at WatchGuard, a global leader in network
security, providing products and services to more than 75,000 customers worldwide. Ryan leads
the Secure Wi-Fi solutions for WatchGuard. He has experience bringing disruptive wireless
products to the WLAN, IoT, medical, and consumer wearable markets.

As VP Business Development in the RF industry, he led sales and business development teams
worldwide to success in direct and channel environments. He holds MBA and Electrical
Engineering degrees and is a named inventor on 19 patents and applications.

Ryan can be reached online at @RyanOrsi and at our company website
www.watchguard.com/wifi

47 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – May 2017 Edition
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