WLAN

What is WLAN?

   

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that uses a wireless channel instead of a wired transmission medium to connect two or more devices to form a local area network (LAN), typically deployed in scenarios such as homes, schools, campuses, or corporate office buildings, etc. A WLAN is a network system, and Wi-Fi is one of the technologies in this network system.

  

WLAN Benefits

   

The advantages of WLAN over wired access technologies are as follows:

  

Freedom of network use: Any free space can be connected to the network, not limited by cables and port locations. It is especially suitable for office buildings, airport terminals, resorts, business hotels, stadiums, coffee shops and other places.

   

Flexible network deployment: For the subway, highway traffic monitoring and other places difficult to wire, using WLAN for wireless network coverage, eliminating or reducing the complicated network wiring, simple implementation, low cost, and good scalability.

   

WLAN vs Wi-Fi: What is the Difference?

   

Wi-Fi refers to the trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance and is also a wireless network communication technology based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, which aims to improve the interoperability between wireless network products based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

    

The full name of WLAN is Wireless Local Area Network. There are two definitions of WLAN, broad and narrow: broadly speaking, WLAN is a network composed of wireless channels with various radio waves (e.g., lasers, infrared, etc.) instead of some or all of the transmission media in wired LANs; the narrow definition of WLAN is based on the IEEE 802.11 series standards, using high-frequency radio frequency (such as 2.4GHz, 5GHz or 6GHz band of wireless electromagnetic waves) as the transmission medium of the wireless LAN. The WLAN in our daily life refers to the narrow definition of WLAN. In the evolution and development of WLAN, there are many technical standards for its realization, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HyperLAN2, etc. Wi-Fi technology has become the mainstream technology standard of WLAN due to its relatively simple realization, reliable communication, high flexibility, relatively low realization cost, etc. Wi-Fi technology has gradually become synonymous with WLAN technology standards.

   

Simply put, WLAN is a network system, and Wi-Fi is a technology in this network system. Therefore, there is a containment relationship between WLAN and Wi-Fi, and WLAN contains Wi-Fi.

 

Is  WLAN Secure?

          

WLAN technology has the advantages of easy installation, flexible use, economic savings and easy expansion. However, WLAN technology uses wireless RF signals as the transmission medium for business data, and this open channel makes it easy for attackers to eavesdrop and tamper with the business data transmitted in the wireless channel.

                    

The common security threats of WLAN are as follows:

                

Wi-Fi without authentication: attackers can connect to the wireless network at will, then attack the whole network.

          

Unencrypted Wireless Data: Attackers can perform over-the-air packet capture to eavesdrop on and tamper with service data transmitted over the wireless channel.

  

Border threat: Illegal AP and legal AP put out the same SSID, which causes users to connect to the illegal AP, and the attacker intercepts the data.

  

In response to these security threats, corresponding security measures are designed to protect the customer's network and defend against attacks.

  

Measures to prevent unauthorized use of network services are link authentication and user access authentication, which can be prevented by deploying enterprise-level user authentication solutions for centralized authentication and management of user identity.

   

Measures to improve data security are data encryption, which protects user data transmitted through air ports from being decrypted by deploying higher encryption strength WPA3, which has the highest strength encryption algorithm with a key length of 256 bit.

  

Measures against illegal APs are wireless attack detection and countermeasure, through the deployment of Wireless Intrusion Detection System (WIDS)/(Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS), real-time discovery of air-port threats and phishing APs, and countermeasures, to protect the customer's network from illegal intrusion. from illegal invasion.