WiMAX will come with security 'holes' warns ABI Research

Stuart Corner
Friday, 05 January 2007 02:32

Business IT - Security

Early WiMAX networks will have a number of security vulnerabilities, according to ABI Research, which sees opportunities for niche security technologies to make rich pickings.

According to ABI, gaps in WiMAX security fall into three categories: user terminals, intrusion detection, and connectivity service networks. "User terminals will need encryption acceleration to handle AES processing demands. At the edge of WiMAX networks, access service networks offer the ideal place for vendors to add intrusion detection and protection software and hardware. Connectivity service networks, as part of carrier back offices, will require stateful firewall software or robust firewall appliances, as well as additional RADIUS servers to handle the extra load imposed by roaming clients on WiMAX authentication."

The research company claims that, with the exception of a few large corporations such as Motorola, Nortel, and Alcatel, few WiMAX vendors have the internal expertise to fill all of these gaps and this leaves the field open for a number of smaller specialised developers to create and supply solutions. The two companies which control most of the licensed WiMAX spectrum in Australia and which have plans for large-scale rollouts - Unwired and Austar - have both named a small specialist company, Navini Networks, as the supplier of their WiMAX technology.

According to ABI vice president Stan Schatt. "Early WiFi consumers enjoyed a false sense of security until there were some well-publicised hacking exploits. The WiMAX Forum has emphasised how much more secure WiMAX is than early WiFi. As a result, there may be WiMAX customers who are similarly lulled into a false sense of security." The flaws, says Schatt, should begin to show themselves once the first big WiMAX rollouts occur.

"To some extent, WiMAX security specialists will attempt to sell solutions directly to end users," says Schatt. "But the lesson learned from WiFi is that these products are most attractive to customers when tightly integrated. So most WiMAX security solutions will be offered through partnerships with WiMAX equipment vendors...Like the early prospectors in the California gold rush, WiMAX vendors may or may not strike it rich. But, like the merchants who sold miners their picks, shovels, and necessary supplies, the providers of WiMAX security tools - companies such as Cavium Networks, AirTight Networks, and Redline Communications - will almost certainly prosper."