In a world with over 8.4B connected devices and growing open Wi-Fi networks, it’s no surprise that you might be a bit skeptical about connecting to public Wi-Fi. That doesn’t change the fact that you need to connect, and your instincts are spot on. I also challenge you to find a business of any size that doesn’t have Wi-Fi. Businesses spanning all verticals and crowded places like coffee shops, conferences, and train stations are perfect places for a hacker to take advantage of the six known Wi-Fi threat categories.
When wireless devices are hacked, it can result in a wide range of issues, including denial of service, compromised personal data, and major infrastructure failures – all costing companies time and expense. Hackers prefer to go after the weak link in the security chain and it doesn’t take much to hack into a Wi-Fi network using easily accessible tools and a plethora of online how-to videos. Even the most rookie hacker can intercept traffic flowing over Wi-Fi and steal valuable data from your smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, or laptop. What’s worse – your business networks become compromised due to malware implanted and credentials stolen over Wi-Fi, and it can cost millions in fines and breach remediation expenses to fix.
The Wi-Fi market has prioritized performance over security for far too long and it’s time to change the status quo. With so much ambiguity in the market about Wi-Fi security, how do you determine which Wi-Fi solution can keep up with the challenge?
You’re probably asking yourself “where do I go from here?”
Whether you’re an IT professional or a business owner, you need to be more aware of Wi-Fi security risks impacting your organization and face the responsibility of evolving your Wi-Fi networks to include security. Simply offering employees, guests, and customers Internet access over Wi-Fi falls short – and what’s needed is Wi-Fi that secures the wireless environment 24/7/365 while providing the scalability, performance and productivity to drive the best ROI for your business.
Some chose to tackle this effort in-house; however, many small to midsize businesses elect to outsource their IT, including their Wi-Fi, to a trusted partner. In any case, you need a solution that enables you to build a Trusted Wireless Environment, a framework that delivers on each of the three core pillars of market-leading performance, scalable management, and verified comprehensive security. Organizations that build Trusted Wireless Environments can enjoy the performance and scalability they need to run their business, while at the same time ensuring protection against today’s most dangerous Wi-Fi attacks.
Miercom—a widely recognized independent product test center – recently covered a ground-breaking, never-been-done series of tests, to determine how effectively an access point can support real-time applications such as voice, video, and data while simultaneously detecting and preventing the most common wireless security threats. According to Miercom’s new research, WatchGuard’s Cloud-Managed Secure Wi-Fi solution is the only product on the market capable of automatically detecting and preventing Wi-Fi threats. These findings came from a new independent security assessment that examined four top Wi-Fi products for their ability to effectively prevent the six known Wi-Fi threat categories.
Learn more, visit www.watchguard.com/trustedwirelessenvironment