OXFORD, United Kingdom—The U.K. government has put an effective ban on the use of wireless local area networks (WLAN) within its departments because of rising security concerns. This move follows a decision by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory to put a temporary ban on WLAN installations in non-classified areas.
While admitting that WLAN technology does offer benefits, the U.K. Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG), which approves technology for use by government departments, said it does carry certain security risks. “The assumption was that a hacker would need sophisticated knowledge and equipment to attack a WLAN network. We do not believe this is necessarily the case,” said a CESG official.
WLAN technology has been criticized for some time because of it lack of security and the ease with which it can be broken. Discussion groups on the Internet frequently detail where suitable “listening” equipment can be obtained and provide hints as to how potential hackers could be most effective. Given this loophole, the CESG said that no U.K. government department has adopted WLANs, and it has becoming increasingly concerned about the use of the technology within the private sector.
