Cisco WAP4410N - Small Business Wireless-N Access Point - Page 85

Wireless Security
WAP4410N Wireless-N Access Point with Power Over Internet 76
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• MAC Addresses.
Enable MAC address filtering. MAC address filtering allows you to provide
access to only those wireless nodes with certain MAC addresses. This
makes it harder for a hacker to access your network with a random MAC
address.
• WEP Encryption.
WEP is often looked upon as a cure-all for wireless security concerns. This
is overstating WEP’s ability. Again, this can only provide enough security to
make a hacker’s job more difficult.
There are several ways that WEP can be maximized:
- Use the highest level of encryption possible.
- Use “Shared Key” authentication.
- Change your WEP key regularly.
• WPA/WPA2 Personal.
The WPA-Personal and WPA2-Personal methods offer two encryption
methods, TKIP and AES, with dynamic encryption keys.
• WPA /WPA2 Enterprise.
The WPA-Enterprise and WPA2-Enterprise option requires that your
network has a RADIUS server for authentication.
A network encrypted with WPA/WPA2 is more secure than a network
encrypted with WEP, because WPA/WPA2 uses dynamic key encryption.
To protect the information as it passes over the airwaves, you should enable
the highest protection level.
Implementing encryption may have a negative impact on your network’s
performance, but if you are transmitting sensitive data over your network,
encryption should be used.
!
CAUTION: Always remember that each device
in your wireless network must use the same
encryption method and encryption key or your
wireless network will not function properly.