Joanie Wexler

Perhaps it was only a matter of time. But wireless security researchers say they have uncovered a vulnerability in the WPA2 security protocol, which is the strongest form of Wi-Fi encryption and authentication currently standardized and available.

Malicious insiders can exploit the vulnerability, named "Hole 196" by the researcher who discovered it at wireless security company AirTight Networks. The moniker refers to the page of the IEEE 802.11 Standard (Revision, 2007) on which the vulnerability is buried.

What's beamforming? Airtime fairness? When a vendor claims to support "wireless security," what kind of security are we talking about?

Like every industry, the Wi-Fi environment has its own vernacular. What can make conquering it particularly challenging is the long list of feature names and proprietary acronyms created by vendor marketing departments. All this verbiage is intended to help the vendors differentiate themselves. Often, though, the sheer volume of it simply confuses people.

In putting together an evaluation of 802.11n vendor strengths and weaknesses, ABI Research, which issued its 802.11n Vendor Matrix last week, has created a template you can use as a cheat sheet for your own assessments.

ABI's own general evaluation ranked archrivals Meru Networks and Aruba Networks at the top, overall, with Motorola next in line. Let's look under the covers at these and other Blue Ribbon grabbers, with some commentary provided by Stan Schatt, ABI vice president and networking research director, who reviewed the results with me last week: