Extreme : Winning at Contact Tracing with the Right WIPS

Some day the surge will subside, the curve will flatten, and the world will reopen. Please excuse my jaded tone, just a slight case of pandemic fatigue. With vaccine distribution underway, and millions expecting to finally dispatch the coronavirus, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. There is no silver bullet, however. Workers will return to the office, restaurants will welcome guests, businesses will strive to regain the bustle of normalcy, but it's not quite that cut and dry.

Contact tracing and occupancy management are part of today's vernacular. In order to meet these requirements, many organizations have turned to automation via IoT devices and wireless networks. The surge in Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) powered devices is introducing new entry points, and possible (likely) vulnerabilities, meaning it may be time to reevaluate your wireless security strategy.

Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems (WIPS) are dedicated security devices or integrated software applications that monitor a business's wireless LAN (WLAN) for wireless threats or rogue access points. Developing a security strategy and selecting the proper WIPS is not just another box to check.

Deploying WIPS is critical to make contact tracing and occupancy management possible. Recent research from 650 Group projects the number of wirelessly connected IoT devices to reach 59 billion by 2025. Every wireless IoT device can quickly become a chink in the armor - including BLE devices.

Want to eliminate nasty surprises? Select a WIPS that provides a depth of threat detection. With hundreds of known threat vectors, the right decision will monitor and protect your network from a growing threat landscape. Not all WIPS can protect BLE devices.

Extreme AirDefense is the only WIPS solution promising both Wi-Fi and BLE security monitoring and protection. Knowledge is power in the network. Know when an unsanctioned BLE device connects, when a BLE device changes location or if there is a rogue device on the network. BLE LiveView capabilities deliver frame analysis to better support companies deploying BLE IoT sensors and tags for proximity tracking, wayfinding, or asset management.

A melding of man and technology will reopen the world. The wireless network is not just for O365 or Salesforce anymore and it's important to bear this in mind when reevaluating your security strategy. We know Bluetooth can be vulnerable let's do something about it.