How to Strengthen Your Enterprise Wireless Network Security - IT Policy Enforcement (
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Security category No. 3: IT policy enforcement
Protecting an enterprise wireless network is not an easy task, but IT
security policies mean little if they are not being properly controlled and
enforced by the IT department. It's not uncommon for those removed from IT at a
company to believe that the IT department always has the knowledge and ability
to enforce policies and maintain the necessary level of security in an
enterprise wireless network. Unfortunately, this is not the case. There are
many companies—large and small—set up for serious security risks, regardless of
how strong their IT departments are.
There is a formidable list of considerations involved in managing IT policy.
The first challenge, of course, is establishing a security policy that is both
effective and accommodating to the needs of users. This in itself is difficult,
but to make matters worse, IT departments are expected to keep up with and
enforce the policy's nuances—such as network access control, vulnerability
assessment, patches, execution controls and configuration. IT departments are
expected to do all this usually while wearing a number of other hats. As a
result, policies often become outdated or ignored.
The truth is that it's not always possible for an IT
department to properly enforce IT policy. In the average company, there are few
IT professionals on staff, and chances are they do not have the time or
targeted expertise to ensure that policies are up-to-date and correctly put
into place. In this situation, it is not a luxury for an IT manager to invest
in outside help from a wireless support provider—it's essential. A partner
company can act as a wireless security consultant to ensure that IT policy is
on the mark, while the IT department can go about its day-to-day tasks.
Dan Croft is founder and CEO
of Mission Critical Wireless.
Dan has been a leader in the wireless telecommunications industry for more than
25 years. Prior to founding Mission
Critical Wireless, he was senior vice president of Marketing and Business Development
at Motient, where he oversaw the company's rollout of the BlackBerry and eLink
service. He has also held senior positions in marketing and general
management for Motorola, U.S.
Cellular and Centel.
Dan holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University in
Evanston, Ill., and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He can be reached at Dan.Croft@missioncriticalwireless.com.
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