Staying secure in an insecure world: 802.1x secure wireless computer connectivity for students, faculty, and staff to the campus network

During this past year, the ASU West IT Department has successfully implemented network connectivity throughout the campus for users who desire to use their computers in places other than the usual designated office spaces and computer labs. Students and staff alike can now access their network file shares, check email, browse the web, and work on projects while sitting in the cafeteria, out on the grass, or under the shade of a tree. With the constant threat of virus attacks, Trojans, hackers, etc., one of the highest priorities for this project was that of security. There are several ways to implement wireless connections, such as 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g, but these solutions, by themselves did not prove secure enough for IT administration. For enhanced security, it was decided to implement the wireless connections on this campus with the addition of the new 802.1x protocol for secure authentication. After extensive testing, wireless access points were established in popular public areas, in classrooms and office buildings, and were incorporated within new classrooms as well. This paper will discuss the driving factors for this type of connectivity, why we chose to implement the 802.1x protocol for secure connectivity, and show the configurations necessary for wireless network connections.