Small Office Home Office WLAN Security Framework

Abstract

The adoption of wireless networks is mostly due to their ease of installation and since there is minimal cabling cost is also reduced when compared with the wired networks. However, it is not easy to confine the radio signal used in wireless networks within a particular geographical area. Due to this fact security is a big issue when it comes to wireless networks. Having the right security controls enables proper management of people, processes and technology. The controls enable a security administrator to know which processes and technological solutions are required for the network to operate securely. Many security administrators would like to operate a secure network but the problem is where to start. For small organizations such as a small office home office wireless network, this can be a big and costly challenge. A SOHO WLAN Security Framework can be of great help to these organizations. From NIST Special Publication 800-30 risk management process, NIST Special Publication 800-37 risk management framework and ISO 27002 standard we were able to create the SOHO WLAN Security Framework. From this framework an application was created using Visual Basic 2010. A field implementation of the application was done in Nairobi City center to gauge the performance of the security framework. The administrators in these organizations were satisfied with its performance but proposed that it should be thoroughly tested for it to have widespread acceptance.