SAN FRANCISCO, CA, (NAMC) - Community Wi-Fi networks are currently being installed at various locations in California and Arizona, this was featured on several television news segments over the past few weeks, including CNBC.

Now this is a new twist in the wireless world as it will start to put pressure on the revenues that cable operators have been enjoying with their hi speed internet connections. Some companies that may be affected are Time Warner, Comcast, EchoStar and DirectTV.

The growth in community Wi-Fi presents a plus for Internet users and for those individuals that have yet to join the Internet revolution, either by choice or circumstance. The biggest issue that has arisen to date is security.

Information Security expert Kevin Mitnick mentioned that an increased security risk would be associated with the new community Wi-Fi networks. Mitnick is the founder of Mitnick Security Consulting and author of the top selling book “The Art of Intrusion”.

Sprint Nextel has taken a giant leap forward with their wireless network, giving their users access to the Internet at a multitude of locations or Wi-Fi hotspots using their branded wireless modem. Again the question that has arisen is the issue of security, will wireless Internet users be able to access banking, brokerage, emails and other personal accounts safely?

Other mobile providers such as T-Mobile, AT&T, Cingular, Research in Motion, Palm and now Microsoft are looking to expand their reach and that entails more users being on the wireless Internet fast track and that just adds to the security risk that is associated with being mobile.

One company that is addressing the security issue is Las Vegas, Nevada based wireless technology company Seamless Wi-Fi. Through their Peer2Peer division based in California they are at the tail end of unveiling their wireless Internet security software solutions for both business and individuals.

The name of the software is “Phenom(TM) Encryption Software V2.0” and the function of the software is to provide wireless Internet users with the ability to have any and all content that is transmitted via a wireless Internet connection encrypted.

It is a Peer 2 Peer Virtual Private Network for Wi-Fi networks, LANs and WANs that provides Chat, Peer-Mail, File Transfer and Remote PC Control applications. Phenom utilizes public-key authentication and encryption using the 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

This encryption process will minimize if not eliminate the concern of personal, corporate and financial information being hijacked when using a Wi-Fi hot spot or wireless Internet connection. The software will be able to work seamlessly with existing community Wi-Fi networks, business intranet networks, home wireless networks and Wi-Fi hotspots such as companies like Starbucks Coffee currently uses.

We had the opportunity in previous segments to speak with authorities on the wireless Internet and community Wi-Fi front and the general consensus was that wireless Internet security is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Even having a firewall doesn’t prevent a hacker from accessing information that is transmitted wirelessly.

The solution is to provide this security from the wireless connection point to the end user, encrypting the content will provide a level of safety that would allow for wireless Internet users to conduct financial transactions without the paranoia of their account information being stolen while doing this.

For more information on Seamless Wi-Fi and to listen to an interview with the CEO Al Reda go to www.namcnewswire.com/companyprofiles/slwf.net , also to listen to our last segment on Wireless Internet Security go to:www.namcnewswire.com/namcradio/wirelesssecurity02022006.html  


Elizabeth Losada
Technology News Correspondent
NAMC Newswire
www.namcnewswire.com