Bluesocket scans the spectrum for wardriving

Wireless-security firm Bluesocket launched a WLAN monitoring system on Tuesday that protects enterprises from unwanted wireless visitors. The product can also alert administrators if their network is being probed by a wardriver.

Bluesocket's BlueSecure Intrusion Protection System is essentially an intrusion detection system for wireless networks. It scans the Wi-Fi frequency range, looking for possible threats such as unauthorised access points, users and unauthorised networking activity.

Carlos Gomez, product manager at Bluesocket, said the BlueSecure product contains a number of dedicated probes that quietly 'listen' to the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz frequencies used by Wi-Fi and report any anomalies.

"They are almost like a surveillance camera -- just sitting there and transmitting information. If they see something unexpected, they can trigger an alert or alarm," said Gomez.

Gomez said BlueSecure is designed to detect users that may be running an unauthorised peer-to-peer network or raise an alarm if a neighbouring company's WLAN is causing interference problems.

"We can detect if someone is doing a scan using Netstumbler or something similar. As soon as someone enters the airwaves around your enterprise, it will log everything. You can detect the MAC address of an unauthorised station and choose whether to take action -- such as completely blocking access with the firewall -- or just monitor it, knowing it is there," said Gomez.

However, Gomez admits that security products on their own are unlikely to keep out intruders, and should be backed up with a sound security policy.

"You can spend £500,000 on a firewall, but if you use weak passwords, it is not going to be much good," said Gomez.