CIO Challenge
Security Solution
In Raymond James' case, Fredriksen relates that "We were looking for something that was not going to be too restrictive and allow for connectivity for a lot of different devices and a lot of different services. We were concerned about the security of the information in transit."
In fact, it was the security concern that had kept Raymond James on the wireless sidelines, he says. "The technology could not be rolled out until we had a corporation-wide security architecture in place." The problem was identifying the right solution.
"The biggest challenge, as with all projects, was sorting through the hype and understanding what the real protection issues were," Fredriksen says. "Unfortunately, right now we're early in the market. There are a lot of proprietary solutions out there that are not necessarily industry-accepted security standards yet."
Wired equivalent privacy (WEP) has been the basic security standard for wireless routers, but while it may be adequate for a home user, at the corporate level, Fredriksen says, "Hackers break WEP in record time." To address security concerns, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a professional society that sets standards for computers and communications, ratified the 802.11i security standard in June to replace WEP.
In the end, Fredriksen and Raymond James settled on Cisco hardware and, after an extensive vendor review, the AirFortress security solution from Fortress Technologies. The AirFortress system features three-factor authentication to protect the network, devices and users in a single-level, centrally managed infrastructure. It is router-agnostic and works with multiple hardware vendors.
Fortress Technologies' Evans explains that "The access point is nothing more than a bridge among the wireless medium, the air and the wired side. It takes traffic from one network and puts it on the other." He says the AirFortress solution makes the wireless device inclusive of a system's security scheme, not exclusive of it. AirFortress sits behind the access point as a gateway, encrypting data and ensuring that the persons and devices trying to access the wireless network are authorized for the activity in which they are trying to engage.
Fidelity's Erickson stresses that security is a major concern. "We are very security-conscious," he says. "We do lock down the type of devices that connect to our network."
One thing to watch for, experts warn, is leakage, where your wireless signal extends beyond the enterprise, exposing the network to hackers. A wireless system should also be able to detect rogue access points and shut them down.
But security and network integration are only a couple of the challenges to rolling out wireless. Another one, Erickson says, is "managing user expectations in terms of performance and capacity. It's a newer service for most people and the characteristics are not as well defined or well-known as straight-forward Ethernet."
While wireless adds complexity to the IT equation, it can also bring efficiency to an organization, notes Joseph Ferra, chief wireless officer at Fidelity. For example, something as simple as making the corporate telephone directory available through wireless access can improve employee productivity.
Ferra says Fidelity, which considers itself a leader in consumer wireless initiatives for investors, wants to leverage some of the services that it provides to external customers and adopt them internally. So, for example, wireless alerts could be used to contact employees to notify them if something critical is happening in a business area that's relevant to them.
Harry Simpson, senior vice president of business development at wireless security provider Roving Planet in Westminister, Colo., and a co-founder of online broker A.B. Watley, says firms also need to identify where they can get the best bang for wireless. "I'm not convinced Wi-Fi is necessary in a trading environment," he says. "Everyone is sitting at a desk." But for employees who are moving about the organization from one office to another or who spend time in meetings and presentations, it can improve efficiencies.
When it comes to building a network and preparing for the future, Simpson adds that IT executives need to look down the road. "It's not just thinking of uses today and what the network looks like today, but it's looking longer term and budgeting behind the curve rather than looking at the eight ball."
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