Security Insecurity
Security is a big red flag for most network administrators planning a WMAN. But 802.16 comes with robust security in its MAC spec. Although there's no requirement to use encryption, most wireless vendors building 802.16 products likely will choose 3DES (128-bit) or RSA (1,024-bit), and hooks are also available for AES support. When a wireless link comes up, digital certificates are exchanged to authenticate the CPE, which prevents someone from inserting rogue wireless devices into the network. After an electronic handshake, the base station grants the CPE a security-association identity and an authorization key with the CPE's public key.
Each service the client device provides is also encrypted with its own security association and private key. This double-layer key exchange, as well as the expiration of the private keys, makes 802.16 more secure and robust than 802.11.
Meanwhile, the WiMAX consortium is banking on its WMAN technology spilling over to the enterprise. And 802.16 is the key to making standards-based WMANs a reality for businesses.
Frank Bulk is a technology associate with the Center for Emerging Network Technologies at Syracuse University. Write to him at [email protected].
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