Hot and bothered-2004-04-01-Hotspots aren't completely secure yet, but there are ways you can minimize your risk.-Elizabeth Millard

Employees are more mobile than ever before, thanks to wireless connectivity, cell phones, and greater broadband access. With freedom, however, comes the need for caution. It's a tremendous boost for productivity if an employee can file a report or do Internet research while camped out in a Starbucks on a Sunday morning. But there's also a potential for security breaches.

Although major hotspots like coffee shop chains, and hotzones like university campuses, employ crackerjack security methods for their wireless access, that doesn't mean every access area is a safe one. Smaller java joints or other hotspot locations may suffer from poor technology management and sloppy access control. If a laptop isn't configured appropriately, that could mean trouble for more than the employee; it puts an entire company at risk.

Every staffer's foray into the wireless Web of a hotspot or hotzone doesn't have to be a reason to lose sleep, though. Laptops can be locked down safely with the right tools, and knowledge about where employees are surfing can go a long way toward prevention. Hotspots are popping up all over the country, and more employees are keen to order up a vanilla latte and get to work, so putting security into place now will save you from some nightmares later.

Higher education

At many companies, employees are given laptops that are Wi-Fi enabled, and handed dial-in numbers if they should find themselves in a hotel or conference room that doesn't offer broadband (the horror!). What they don't often receive is an education in how to surf safely, and ways to spot a questionable wireless environment.

This is a dangerous mistake, says Tanya Baccam, security audit expert at security training firm The SANS Institute. Putting together a security policy is important, but so is making sure that users don't just sign it without reading it. Or indeed, understanding it.

"Having the right policies in place is a big deal," Baccam says. "When we see a weak policy during a security audit, that's a red flag." She notes that with the growth in wireless, it's crucial to specify where employees can log on and what types of security measures they should employ. A staffer who goes against written policies by tinkering with the settings of a VPN and then surfing in an insecure hotspot could put company data out into the open.

Baccam adds, "Once you have good, solid policies, you need to educate users about them. Just having the policies is no good if no one understands how to follow them." For employees that travel a great deal and use hotspots and hotzones frequently, special attention should be given to training them on how to stay safe.

An IT department should explain that there are different types of hotspots, in order to make users more aware of security risks. Some, like major coffee shop chains, are eager to tout the level of security that they offer, and can usually be trusted.

Don McKinnon, vice president of music and entertainment for Starbucks, notes that the company is developing a great deal of content connected to its hotspot service. Customers can log on through the company's T-1 line and get a bevy of Internet-only treats like music and video. In order to woo more customers to such a robust offering, Starbucks made it a priority to have bulletproof security in place. "We want to have Wi-Fi access as a core part of a customer's experience," McKinnon said. "For that, you need amazing security."

Beyond the rock-solid security of established coffee purveyors, the hotspot security world gets murky. Julie Ask, research director for Jupiter Research says, "In general, if somebody's using a hotspot, security is up to them. Enterprises have to educate their people about hotspot security."

Safety gear

In addition to employee education, there's a need for the right hardware and software mix to keep traveling laptops safe from harm or hack. Some employees may think that firewalls offer enough protection when they're surfing outside of the office, but firewalls only protect data that's stored on the laptop. They don't protect data sent from a laptop through a wireless access point. What does keep that information safe is a VPN, but not all companies have automatically put VPNs on every laptop.

"There are constant updates going on in the security realm in terms of hotspots," says Kurt Bauer, senior vice president of field operations for public access solutions provider Nomadix. "IT managers should buy security products with hotspots in mind."

This means that on the IT shopping list should be VPNs with built-in security, or even a third-party service like HotSpot VPN. The product connects individual hotspot users to a VPN that encrypts data that's sent from a user's computer to a hotspot access point. From there, the information is filtered through the HotSpotVPN server and then to the Internet. This kind of solution might prove especially attractive for small and mid-size companies, since the cost per user is under $10 per month. Although a service like this one could mean a loss in performance, the speed of a T-1 connection that's usually employed for hotspots should make it barely noticeable for most users.

Safer days ahead

While companies are learning to lock down, there's a growing movement toward making hotspots and hotzones more secure. T-Mobile, which has about 4,000 hotspots, is proving to be very attractive to the corporate market with its recent iPass agreement. The iPass virtual Wi-Fi network lets a single user access the Internet though a software interface that has built-in security.

The T-Mobile system won't work for everybody, because the service only works with Windows XP clients and systems that use Windows Server 2003. Still, when compared to some of the sketchy security found elsewhere, it's considered a major step forward toward locking down wireless zones.

Until companies like T-Mobile and Starbucks get their wish for a safer hotspot that everyone will use, it's up to individual users to make sure that they're not putting themselves, and their companies, into danger. "Hotspots are a great trend," Bauer says, "as long as you're careful."

Here are the topics we cover computer certification computer careers computer training computer games consulting data recovery data security digital entertainment emerging technology gadget reviews handheld computers hardware reviews home automation home networks home office how-to advice internet linux local companies local news local profiles macintosh mp3 players network security online music online security open-source small-business technology soho software reviews technology books technology dictionary vpn web site reviews wi-fi windows wireless technology tech articles tech news press releases tech dictionary education resources career solutions create your personal blog upload your videos become a writer usergroups special interest group SIG 3com cipts adobe adobe certified expert apc ncpi apple achds acpt acsa actc avaya bea 8.1 certified administrator 8.1 certified architect 8.1 certified developer 9 certified administrator bicsi rcdd checkpoint ccmse ccsa ccsa ngx ccse ccse ng plus with ai ccse ngx cisco access routing and lan switching ccda ccdp ccie ccip ccna ccnp ccnp old ccsp ccvp crmam ip communications optical proctored exams for validating knowledge sales specialist storage networking vpn and security wireless lan citrix cca 3.0 cca 4.0 cca 4.5 cca xp ccea 3.0 ccea 4.0 ccea xp ccia ciw ciw associate ciw certified instructor master ciw admin master ciw designer master ciw enterprise developer security analyst comptia a+ network+ security+ server+ computer associates ca cusa cuse cwna cwna cwsp dell eccouncil cea cep certified ethical hacker chfi e-commerce architect emc emc specialist implemenation technology foundations enterasys ese eta exam express exin exin itil extreme networks ena ens filemaker f7cd f8cd fortinet fortigate foundry cne fujitsu fujitsu guidance software ence hdi css hda hdm hdsa hitachi hitachi certified professional hp ais apc app aps ase certified systems developer csa cse master ase huawei hcne hyperion hcp ibm advanced deployment professional advanced technical expert application developer business process analyst certified administrator certified advanced system administrator certified advanced technical expert certified associate developer certified enterprise developer certified solution designer certified specialist certified systems expert database administrator db2 deployment professional enterprise developer eserver certified specialist ibm on demand business solution advisor solution designer solutions developer solutions expert storage administrator system administator iisfa cifi intel isaca cisa isc cissp sscp iseb itil ism cpm juniper jncia jncis legato lcaa lcea lotus clp lpi lpic level 1 lpic level 2 lpic level 3 macromedia mcafee mcdata csnd microsoft crm mbs mcad .net mcdba mcdst mcitp mcp mcpd mcsa longhorn mcsa 2003 mcsa 2008 mcsd .net mcse mcse 2000 security mcse 2000 to mcse 2003 upgrade mcse 2003 mcse 2003 messaging mcse 2003 security mcse 2008 mcts microsoft business solutions microsoft partner competency mile2 cnsa network appliance nac-na nac-nie naca nace nacp network general sniffer certified professional nokia nokia security administrator nortel ncde ncds ncse ncss ncts novell5 cna 5 cne 6 cna 6 cne 6.5 cne cne upgrade omg ocup oracle 10g dba 10g oca 11i 8i dba 9i dba 9i internet application developer oca ocp8 to ocp8i dba upgrade exam pmi project management professional polycom pcve redhat rhce rhct sair sas institute sas scp saas scp snia snia certified architect snia certified professional snia certified systems engineer snia storage networking certification program administrator professional associate symantec scse scsp scta scts teradata tca v2r5 tcad v2r5 tcda v2r5 tcis v2r5 tcm v2r5 tcp v2r5 tia ccnt ctp tibco tcp trusecure ticsa veritas infraguard chamber of commerce vcp vmware certified professional webex linkedin facebook myspace Professional page layout, image editing, vector illustration, and print production Website design, development, prototyping, and blogging Creation of rich interactive content Industry-standard visual effects and motion graphics Video capture, editing, and production; DVD titling; and digital audio, Adobe Photoshop CS3 extended, Adobe illustrator CS3,Adobe indesign CS3,Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, Adobe Dreamweaver CS3,Adobe Contribute CS3,Adobe Fireworks CS3,Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3,Adobe Soundbooth CS3,Adobe Encore CS3,Adobe OnLocation,Adobe Bridge CS3,Adobe Version Cue CS3,Adobe Device Central CS3,Adobe Stock Photos, Intel Pentium 4 (1.4GHz processor for DV; 3.4GHz processor for HDV), Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon, (dual 2.8GHz processors for HD), or Intel Core, Duo (or compatible) processor; SSE2-enabled processor required for AMD systems Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (certified for 32-bit editions) 1GB of RAM for DV; 2GB of RAM for HDV and HD; more RAM recommended when running multiple components 10GB of available hard-disk space (additional free space required during installation) Dedicated 7,200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred Microsoft DirectX compatible sound card (multichannel ASIO-compatible sound card recommended),1,280x1,024 monitor resolution with 32-bit color adapter Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray Disc creation OHCI compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device QuickTime 7.1.2 software required to use QuickTime features Broadband Internet connection required for Adobe Stock Photos* and other services

3PAR, Accellion, Acronis, Actional, Active Endpoints, ActiveGrid, activePDF, ActiveServers, ActiveState, Actuate, Adaptec, Agile Software, AGiLiENCE, Agilysys, Akorri, AlachiSoft, Alter Logic, Altor Networks, Altova, AMD, AMDAHL, Amentra, Amyuni, anacubis, Apani, APC, Appcelerator, AppSense, AppStream, Array Networks, Ascential, Astaro, Attune Systems, Autodesk, AutoVirt, Availl, Avanade, Azul Systems, Barracuda Networks, BEA Systems, B-hive, Black Duck Software, Blackbaud, Blade Network Technologies, Blue Coat, Blue Lane, BlueArc, BlueNote Networks, BluePheonix Solutions, BMC Software, Borland, Bristol Technology, Brix Networks, BroadVision, Brocade, Burton Group, Business Objects, CA, CalAmp, Cassatt, Cast Iron Systems, Catbird, Cayenne Technologies, Ceedo Technologies, Cenzic, Certeon, CiRBA, Cisco Systems, Cision, Citrix Systems, ClearApp, ClearCube Technology, CollabNet, Compass America, Composite Software, Compugen, Compuware, Configuresoft, Continuity Software, Coraid, Courion, Coyote Point Systems, Crescendo Networks, CSC, DataCore, DataSynapse, Dell, Desktone, Digipede Technologies, Double-Take Software, Ecora Software, EDS, eG Innovations, Egenera, Elastra Corporation, Electric Cloud, Embotics, EMC Corporation, Emulex, Endeavors Technology, Enigmatic Corporation, Enterprise Management Associates, Entuity, EqualLogic, Ericom Software, ESRI, EVault, eXludus Technologies, F5 Networks, FalconStor, FastScale Technology, Foedus, Force10 Networks, Fortisphere, Forum Systems, Fujitsu, GemStone Systems, Getronics, GlassHouse, Green Hills Software, Grid Dynamics, GridGain Systems, GT Software, Hitachi, HP, Hyper9, Hyperic, IBM, ICEsoft, IGEL Technology, Illumita, ILOG, IMEX Research, Information Builders, Ingres, InstallFree, Integrien, Intel, Intellium, International Computerware, iTKO LISA, JBoss, Juniper, KACE, Kidaro, LeftHand Networks, Leostream, Lifeboat Distribution, Liquid Computing Corporation, Liquid Technology, Lynux Works, Mainline, ManageIQ, Managed Methods, ManageSoft, Marathon Technologies, McAfee, Mellanox Technologies, Microsoft, Mid-Atlantic Computers, Mindbridge Software, Mindreef, MKS, MonoSphere, Motorola, MQSoftware, mySoftIT, NASTEL, Ncomputing, NEC, Neocleus, NeoPath Networks, Neoware, NetApp, Netegrity, Neterion, Netuitive, Neverfail, Nexaweb, NextAxiom, Nimbus, Nimsoft, Niyuta, NoMachine, Novell, ONStor, Opalis Software, Open Kernel Labs, OpenSpan, OPNET Technologies, Optaros, OpTier, Oracle, Pano Logic, Parallels, Parasoft, Perforce Software, PHD Technologies, Phoenix Technologies, Phurnace Software, Pillar Data Systems, PlateSpin/Novell, Progress Software, Prolifics, ProSync Technology, Provision Networks, QLogic, Quest Software, Racemi, Raritan, Raxco Software, Red Hat, Reflex Security, Resolution Enterprises, RingCube Technologies, Riverbed Technology, Rogue Wave Software, RSA Security, Sagnet Solutions, SanDisk Corporation, SAP, SAVVIS, ScaleMP, Scalent Systems, Seanodes, Secure Command, Secure Computing, Sentillion, Shavlik Technologies, ServInt Internet Services, Silpion IT Solutions, SIMtone, Skytap, Skyway Software, Software AG, Sonasoft, SourceGear, Splunk, StackSafe, SteelEye Technology, StillSecure, StoneFly, Stonesoft, Stoneware, StoreVault, StrikeIron, STT WebOS, Sun Microsystems, SunGard, Supermicro Computer, Surgient, SWsoft, Sybase, Symantec, Systar, TBD Networks, Tenfold, TheInfoPro, Thinstall, Third Brigade, TIBCO Software, Tidal Software, Tideway Systems, TOA Solutions, TRANGO Virtual Processors, Trend Micro, Tresys Technology, Trigence, Tripwire, Ulteo, Unisys, United Devices, VaST Systems, VDIworks, VeeAm Software, Verari Systems, Verio, VeriSign, Vicom Computer Services, VirtenSys, Virtera, Virtual Iron, VirtualLogix, Virtugo Software, Virtutech, VisionCore, Vizioncore, VKernel, VMLogix, vmSight, VMware, Vordel, vThere-Sentillion, Vyatta, WaveMaker, Web Age Solutions, WSO2, Wyse Technology, XDS, XenoCode, Xiotech, xkoto, Xsigo Systems, Zenith Optemedia, Zeus Technology.