The use of wireless networks, or Wi-Fi as many people call it, provides a wide range of benefits to a workplace. However, due to the various drawbacks, organizations cannot rely entirely on wireless transmission as a source in the workplace. There is a wide range of problems with wireless connections.
The most significant risk of using a wireless network is security. Since these connections are cordless, controlling network access at any specified time is difficult. A wireless connection is more exposed to attacks by unauthorized users. To help combat issues with security, organizations should use preventative measures such as authentication through MAC address filtering and encrypted passwords (Kobayashi et al., 2019). Transmission speed is also another issue affecting the wireless network. The connection can be slower and less efficient in some areas. The signal transmission is less reliable and can be blocked by objects like walls and hills. Adverse weather also affects the signal strength of wireless connections. Wireless network connections are difficult to set up and install. The process typically requires technicians with knowledge of electromagnetic signal transfer.
The Israeli hacker scandal is an example of complete operation disruptions due to wireless network failure. In 2016, an Israel-based internet hacker took over an entire city’s Wi-Fi Amihai Neiderman spotted an internet hotspot and wanted to test its security strength. He performed various disconnections on the router through access points and interfered with the IP addresses of the network. He disconnected the internet and scanned for open ports realizing that the router was serving a web-based login interface port 433 (HTTPS). This shows how insecure a wireless connection can be.
Reference
Kobayashi, S., Otomo, K., & Fukuda, K. (2019). Causal analysis of network logs with layered protocols and topology knowledge. 15th International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM), 1-9. Web.