When the Canadian manufacturer first began including wireless technology in its devices, people were concerned it would breach security. However, even if you use your handset with an unsecured Wi-Fi access point, the connection to the BlackBerry server is protected by 256-bit AES encryption. This applies to any business applications a company installs on a BlackBerry and to email, but it does not apply to web browsing.
To make Wi-Fi web browsing secure, you need to connect to an access point using encryption and all BlackBerry handsets with Wi-Fi support WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA2 personal and enterprise wireless encryption, which devices must have to get the Wi-Fi logo. This is much more secure than the original Wi-Fi security standard, WEP (Wireless Encryption Privacy), which was designed to offer the same minimal security available on a wired, Ethernet network once you are connected. Even with a 128-bit key, WEP can be cracked in a matter of minutes using freely available software.
Some insecurities have been found in WPA2 using the simpler Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), but these don't let people eavesdrop on the network or connect without knowing the key, and they don't work at all on enterprise wireless networks using AES. To be completely secure, use a WPA2 key of around 20 characters, preferably random rather than common English words.
Wi-Fi-capable BlackBerry handsets also support WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), a relatively new way of setting up secure wireless networks for the home by making it easier to configure the SSID of the network and to distribute the WPA2 encryption key. You type in a PIN rather than the whole key and, with version 4.6 of the BlackBerry software, the PIN is replaced by a push-button setup.
For business use, the BlackBerry 8820 is certified under the Cisco Compatible Extensions programme.
No comments:
Post a Comment