Respond to the following: • Please read the article, (Wi-Fi in plant environment

Question

Respond to the following:

•  Please read the article, (Wi-Fi in plant environments: Convenience vs. risk. ) Article link is given below

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.vlib.excelsior.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=061b812c-978c-41e3-a860-d3372afcedf7%40sessionmgr103&vid=0&hid=113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=108437856&db=bth

Given the inherent risks of Wi-Fi networks, why is their use increasing at such a fast pace for business and residential use?
•  What are the challenges that are caused by an increasing demand for wireless communications? What are the corresponding innovations and solutions that are developed to address the challenges?

Explanation / Answer

Risks of Wi-Fi networks

Wireless networks, on the other hand, make use of wireless access points and radios embedded in computers. The generated radio waves know no geographic boundaries. They travel through walls and windows and may be picked up by someone sitting in a parking lot. Short of shielding the building with lead, there's not much that can be done to prevent these emanations from leaving a company's buildings.

The problem is there are plenty of criminals who love to get their hands on WiFi traffic to collect usernames, passwords, etc. It’s easy and cheap enough for them to set up their own hotspot somewhere (the whole hotspot setup only cost SySS about 200 euros), give it a credible-looking name, and just let the data flow in. And even if a hotspot is provided by a legitimate business or organization, criminals can still use “sniffing” tools to spy on others’ Internet traffic.

The Issue of Privacy
The thing about public networks is anybody can use them, and you never know who you’re sharing cyberspace with. It’s a lot like using a public parking lot. You run the risk of someone dinging your car, or in this case, hacking your connection.

It’s surprisingly easy to do, and public WiFi hotspots present tempting targets to hackers. Many times these individuals will stake out locations, appearing to be nothing more than a guy enjoying his coffee and surfing Reddit. In all reality, you could be sharing bandwidth with someone who’s secretly trying to hack your connection two tables away.

why is their use increasing at such a fast pace for business and residential use

Wi-Fi hotspots can expect to enjoy sustained growth for years to come as they become more integrated with mobile technology.
Increasing use of mobile phones.
Not all smartphone owners have a data plan. Most smartphones have a browser and internet capability but mobile providers charge extra for 3G or 4G internet access. These phones can only access the internet through a Wi-Fi network

There are limitations even for those smartphone users with a data plan. Coverage may not always be assured and connection speeds can vary, particularly since many data plans only allow a certain amount of data before throttling speeds. This makes using the phone with a Wi-Fi hotspot especially desirable to keep from using up valuable megabytes on a limited plan.

Mobile providers aren’t equipped to keep up with the growing use of mobile broadband. Wireless data traffic is expected to grow 26 times its current size within the next five years, according to Cysco. This means that telecom networks are seeking to use Wi-Fi networks to subsidize some of that growing traffic and prevent congestion. As just one example, China Mobile, which has more subscribers than any other carrier in the world, deployed 1 million new hotspots in 2012 alone.

Challenges:-

- Emerging demands for high data rate services and high spectral efficiency are the key driving forces for the continued technology evolution in wireless communications. Third generation (3G) mobile communication systems have already been commercially deployed in certain parts of the world to meet the initial demand for high data rate packet-based services including wireless internet access. Recently, several advancements have been introduced for 3G wireless systems to further improve the data rate and the system performance (e.g., high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems, 1x evolution-data and voice (1xEV-DV) in cdma2000 systems). Nevertheless, due to the rapid growth of wireless multimedia services, it is apparent that 3G wireless systems will be unable to comply with the ever increasing demand for broadband wireless services. As a result, even before widespread commercial deployment of 3G wireless systems, the standardization process of the next generation wireless communication systems (namely, fourth generation (4G) or beyond 3G (B3G) systems) has already been initiated. The next generation broadband wireless systems are expected to support a variety of services requiring different data rates and different QoS (quality of service) levels. Obviously, the key feature of 4G (or B3G) systems over growing 3G systems is the feasibility of much higher data rate services.

- Security
- Coverage
- Bandwidth Management

corresponding innovations and solutions

Use a VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) connection is a must when connecting to your business through an unsecured connection, like a WiFi hotspot. Even if a hacker manages to position himself in the middle of your connection, the data here will be strongly encrypted. Since most hackers are after an easy target, they'll likely discard stolen information rather than put it through a lengthy decryption process.

Use SSL Connections

You aren't likely to have a VPN available for general Internet browsing, but you can still add a layer of encryption to your communication. Enable the "Always Use HTTPS" option on websites that you visit frequently, or that require you to enter some kind of credentials. Remember that hackers understand how people reuse passwords, so your username and password for some random forum may be the same as it is for your bank or corporate network, and sending these credentials in an unencrypted manner could open the door to a smart hacker. Most websites that require an account or credentials have the "HTTPS" option somewhere in their settings.

Turn Off Sharing

When connecting to the Internet at a public place, you're unlikely to want to share anything. You can turn off sharing from the system preferences or Control Panel, depending on your OS, or let Windows turn it off for you by choosing the "Public" option the first time you connect to a new, unsecured network.

Keep WiFi Off When You Don't Need It

Even if you haven't actively connected to a network, the WiFi hardware in your computer is still transmitting data between any network within range. There are security measures in place to prevent this minor communication from compromising you, but not all wireless routers are the same, and hackers can be a pretty smart bunch. If you're just using your computer to work on a Word or Excel document, keep your WiFi off. As a bonus, you'll also experience a much longer battery life.

Stay Protected

Even individuals who take all the possible public WiFi security precautions are going to run across issues from time to time. It's just a fact of life in this interconnected age. That's why it's imperative to keep a robust Internet security solution installed and running on your machine. These solutions can constantly run a malware scan on your files, and will always scan new files as they are downloaded. The top consumer security software will also offer business protection solutions, so you can protect yourself while you're out and about, and your servers back at the office, all at the same time

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