Wireless network security for users

Network security technology generally concentrates on protection of the network infrastructure and, by implication, protection of the user. While this is true for the larger public network, the local network environment of the user is very vulnerable to denial-of-service, "man-in-the-middle" and other attacks that can be devastating. In this paper, we examine the issues of wireless security from the perspective of the user and the local network. We look at airlink attacks by specialized transmitters and intercept receivers. Examples are taken from the technologies used in IS-95 CDMA cellular radiotelephones and IEEE 892.11 wireless LANs.