A solution to manage wireless networks inside an organisation has been introduced by GFI Software.
According to the company, GFI WirelessSentry (GFI WiSe) is a cloud-based solution which allows IT administrators to monitor, manage and secure their wireless networks, optimising performance while protecting users from wireless threats, regardless of the networking hardware deployed.
GFI WiSe uses a lightweight sensor on a local machine near each access point that is monitored and managed via an online dashboard. It works with a company’s existing systems, regardless of make and model, eliminating the need to make large investments in compatible hardware.
Ed Harnish, VP of marketing at GFI Software, told IT Security Guru that as more and more devices are connected into the network, IT staff struggle to secure them and the idea of centralised system is an issue that everyone is facing.
Sara Foley, product manager for GFI WiSe, said: “What we are doing differently is we are trying to work with other vendors as the SMB may have offices with existing hardware and we want this to work with access points. So we are not requiring them to remove the access points, instead we give them a way to manage it.”
A survey of 1,001 UK employees conducted by Opinion Matters revealed that 97 per cent of respondents use their personal mobile device for work, while nearly 40 per cent of those surveyed admitted to using mobile devices to circumvent existing IT security and data policies in the workplace.
Foley said: “If you bring wifi into the office, as well as wireless and rogue access points, then attackers can set up SSID names and trick users into connecting to them.” Mike Wilson, director of engineering at GFI Software, said that WiSe can track when a new SSID appears and log into it to see what is connecting to it and what has not seen before.
Foley said: “IT do not monitor this but it is not about paying attention, it is about SMBs on a wired network and seeing a problem as well as different methods and access points with multiple offices.” Harnish said that with the slow adoption of the internet of things, this will become more of an issue going forward and it will grow expodentially, “so while it is not an issue now, but 18 months from now it will be at the front of mind”.
Features include remote management of WiFi networks, wireless vulnerability assessment and detection and bandwidth monitoring.
