How to Securely Connect a Company Network

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How to securely connect a company network

More often than not, owning a small business means fulfilling a life-long dream. That's why most small business owners tend to be involved with - and worry about - every aspect of the company, including IT security issues. If you've been hit by a hacker, you know that a vulnerable network can doom a business, especially if it's just getting started.

To put these worries to rest, all you have to do is take a few simple steps to secure your company's network.

"Although no network in the world is 100 percent secure from outside access, it would take monumentally huge amounts of time, effort and expense for someone to access the types of secure wireless network environments that are readily - and affordably - available to small businesses today," says Tom Henry, a senior analyst at Dell. "There are multiple layers of security that small businesses can implement in their networks that will give them the peace of mind they deserve."

Same as the big guys

In the early days of wireless networking, security features - like the standard Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)- were not nearly as sophisticated as those available today. Though WEP did a good job of keeping accidental outsiders from accessing networks, WEP was no match for determined intruders.

Since the WEP days, additional layers of security and encryption - including Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)- have made wireless network environments more secure.

"In fact, small businesses today have the ability to use the same types of security features that companies with 50,000 employees or more use to protect their networks," Henry says. "The technology is very affordable, highly scalable and very secure."

Restricted access

When it comes to security, most small businesses are primarily concerned about keeping the "bad guys" from getting inside their networks, while allowing employees and sometimes clients and customers to have ready access to the network. To that end, MAC address filtering is a great first step. Despite its sophisticated name, MAC address filtering has a fairly simple - yet vitally important - function: To block hackers and other unwanted intruders from entering a network based on the "address" or code of the device they're using when they attempt to access the network.

From notebooks to PDAs, every wireless device comes equipped with a mobile wireless card, and each card has its own unique MAC address. In other words, the MAC address is the technological equivalent of a fingerprint.

MAC address filtering works much like a sophisticated security system at a top-secret research lab. At the lab, every scientist who attempts to enter the lab must first have their fingerprint scanned by the system. When the scanner doesn't recognize a scientist's fingerprint, the system blocks lab entry.

The equivalent of the research lab's fingerprint scanner in a wireless network is the network's access point or gateway, which in most networks is the router. With MAC address filtering, you can control access to your company network by setting up the router/access point, so it will only allow access to wireless devices with MAC addresses it recognizes. If your router/access point doesn't recognize the device's MAC address, then the person using that device can't get into your network.

On its own, MAC address filtering is more than capable of keeping unwanted outsiders from gaining access to your network. But by combining MAC address filtering with WPA, you can kick-up your network's security by several notches. WPA works in tandem with MAC address filtering to provide an extra layer of security. It begins when you create a unique passcode (passcodes can range from eight to 63 characters, usually a mix of letters and numbers). You then configure your network router/access point, so it only allows wireless devices to enter the network when those devices have the same unique passcode configured on their wireless card settings. For example, you create the passcode "WaynesWorld76Gremlin" for your network; then you configure your network router/access point to recognize - and allow access to - only the wireless devices (notebooks, PDAs, etc.) that have "WaynesWorld76Gremlin" configured in their wireless card settings.

Configuring MAC address filtering and WPA on your wireless network can sometimes be a tricky proposition. You have essentially three options:

1. If you're up to the challenge, you might try tackling the job on your own.
2. You could hire a consultant to set up and configure the network router/access point for you. This option tends to be very effective but can be expensive.
3. Buy a router/access point and other wireless network technology from a company that provides 24/7 online and phone support that can easily walk you through the process. For example, Dell offers a comprehensive, online tool called Dell Network Assistant that includes how to set-up and configure the network router/access point, so it has the highest possible levels of MAC address filtering and WPA security.

Not surprisingly, many small businesses go with option 3. That's because it can offer the fastest and most cost-effective path to the piece of mind you seek for your network's security. If you'd like to go with the full set-up option, review the services Dell offers.

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