Government Technology - May 2008 - (Page 36) security S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L j j Synopsis: Wireless security vendor rates the vulnerability of networks in San Francisco. Government scores lowest, with a D. San Francisco officials disagree. Jurisdiction: Grade? Government scores lower than finance, retail, transportation and corporations in vendor’s wireless security survey. Failing City and county of San Francisco. MAY_08 overnment wireless networks in San Francisco need a security upgrade, according to AirDefense, an Atlanta-based network security company. The firm released its San Francisco Wireless Security Vulnerability Survey in April, revealing a grim snapshot of the City by the Bay’s wireless climate. The survey analyzed wireless security in five categories — finance, government, retail, transportation and major corporations — and found 4,606 total access points (APs) in use for connecting wirelessly to these networks. Government finished dead last with a D grade, according to the company. Transportation scored highest, earning a B-. Retail earned a C+, major corporations earned a C and finance earned a C-. San Francisco government officials defended the security of their municipal networks, however, and questioned the accuracy of the company’s grades. “There’s no indication of how an access point was identified as government as opposed to any of the other industry groups, or whether it was even associated with an industry rather than just a consumer’s access point,” said Brian Roberts, senior policy analyst for the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services in San Francisco consolidated government. AirDefense graded each industry on five criteria: 1. The number of APs without encryption or using the relatively weak Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption standard. 2. The presence of probing laptops, which look for unencrypted wireless networks to assess how vulnerable they are to infiltration. 3. The discovery of “rogue” APs, which often are set up by workers without authorization from their employers. They G 51 B Y H I LT O N C O L L I N S | S T A F F W R I T E R C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 36 http://www.govtech.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - May 2008 Government Technology - May 2008 Contents Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for … Turning Over a New Leaf Crash Diet Budget Blues? Failing Grade? Running the Numbers The 311 Report High-Tech Corrections How It Works Spectrum Two Cents Products Personal Computing Signal: Noise Government Technology - May 2008 Government Technology - May 2008 - Government Technology - May 2008 (Page 1) Government Technology - May 2008 - Government Technology - May 2008 (Page 2) Government Technology - May 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Government Technology - May 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Government Technology - May 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Government Technology - May 2008 - Point of View (Page 6) Government Technology - May 2008 - Point of View (Page 7) Government Technology - May 2008 - The Last Mile (Page 8) Government Technology - May 2008 - The Last Mile (Page 9) Government Technology - May 2008 - Big Picture (Page 10) Government Technology - May 2008 - Big Picture (Page 11) Government Technology - May 2008 - On the Scene (Page 12) Government Technology - May 2008 - On the Scene (Page 13) Government Technology - May 2008 - Four Questions for … (Page 14) Government Technology - May 2008 - Four Questions for … (Page 15) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 16) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 17) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 18) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 19) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 20) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 21) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 22) Government Technology - May 2008 - Turning Over a New Leaf (Page 23) Government Technology - May 2008 - Crash Diet (Page 24) Government Technology - May 2008 - Crash Diet (Page 25) Government Technology - May 2008 - Crash Diet (Page 26) Government Technology - May 2008 - Crash Diet (Page 27) Government Technology - May 2008 - Crash Diet (Page 28) Government Technology - May 2008 - Crash Diet (Page 29) Government Technology - May 2008 - Budget Blues? (Page 30) Government Technology - May 2008 - Budget Blues? (Page 31) Government Technology - May 2008 - Budget Blues? (Page 32) Government Technology - May 2008 - Budget Blues? (Page 33) Government Technology - May 2008 - Budget Blues? (Page 34) Government Technology - May 2008 - Budget Blues? (Page 35) Government Technology - May 2008 - Failing Grade? (Page 36) Government Technology - May 2008 - Failing Grade? (Page 37) Government Technology - May 2008 - Running the Numbers (Page 38) Government Technology - May 2008 - Running the Numbers (Page 39) Government Technology - May 2008 - Running the Numbers (Page 40) Government Technology - May 2008 - Running the Numbers (Page 41) Government Technology - May 2008 - The 311 Report (Page 42) Government Technology - May 2008 - The 311 Report (Page 43) Government Technology - May 2008 - The 311 Report (Page 44) Government Technology - May 2008 - The 311 Report (Page 45) Government Technology - May 2008 - High-Tech Corrections (Page 46) Government Technology - May 2008 - High-Tech Corrections (Page 47) Government Technology - May 2008 - How It Works (Page 48) Government Technology - May 2008 - How It Works (Page 49) Government Technology - May 2008 - Spectrum (Page 50) Government Technology - May 2008 - Spectrum (Page 51) Government Technology - May 2008 - Two Cents (Page 52) Government Technology - May 2008 - Two Cents (Page 53) Government Technology - May 2008 - Products (Page 54) Government Technology - May 2008 - Products (Page 55) Government Technology - May 2008 - Personal Computing (Page 56) Government Technology - May 2008 - Personal Computing (Page 57) Government Technology - May 2008 - Signal: Noise (Page 58) Government Technology - May 2008 - Signal: Noise (Page 59) Government Technology - May 2008 - Signal: Noise (Page 60)
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