Colubris Networks Inc., a manufacturer of secure wireless LAN routers addresses the security concerns relating to the implementation of IEEE 802.11b Wireless LANs by adding IPSec and L2TP support to its range of secure Wireless LAN Routers.

``It has been proven that WEP security can be compromised within minutes, exposing your network and your data to eavesdropping,'' said Pierre Trudeau, President of Colubris Networks Inc. ``Although many vendors recommend the use of longer encryption keys or are waiting for WEP 2 (IEEE 802.11i) to solve the problem, the inherent flaws in the WEP protocol remain its Achilles heel.''

To address these security issues, many industry experts recommend the use of an external virtual private networking (VPN) server to provide strong access control and security. Although this protects access to the corporate backbone network, it does not protect the traffic between client stations attached to a wireless access point.

``Wireless access points that rely solely on an external VPN server are also exposed,'' said Trudeau. ``To be effective, security needs to be implemented at the entry point into the network, otherwise portions of the network remain vulnerable.''

By embedding IPSec and L2TP into its CN1050 range of secure wireless LAN routers, Colubris Networks extends the protection of VPN to wireless traffic. All wireless traffic is blocked until an authenticated, encrypted VPN tunnel is established with the Colubris Networks wireless LAN router.

``802.11 users are demanding strong security on their wireless networks,'' said Stephane Laroche, Senior Architect at Colubris Networks. ``With our CN1050, wireless client stations will have to establish an IPSec tunnel or an IPSec-protected L2TP tunnel to gain access to the network. By embedding IPSec in the wireless access point, you now have two-way authentication, enabling the wireless station to also authenticate the wireless access point.''

"By combining IPSec and wireless LAN technologies into a single device, they have created a highly secure solution that significantly reduces the eavesdropping risks associated with wireless networking.'' says Gemma Paulo, Industry Analyst at Cahners In-Stat

Wireless Security White Paper (PDF)