The oldest trick in the book for network intrusion protection is limiting physical access to the LAN. VARs and networking consultants can use the 802.1x access control to limit which systems have access to their customer's networks.
Using 802.1x to control physical access to LANs
Network security would be so much easier if you could control which physical computers were allowed to join your network. It would mean a hacker would have to gain physical access to a particular computer before they could even start to attack your network. One technology used to control admission of computers into a network is 802.1X, a port-based access control. It is mainly used on wireless networks but is increasing in popularity as an access control method on wired networks too.
Learn more about controlling LAN access with 802.1x.
About the author
Michael Cobb, CISSP-ISSAP is the founder and managing director of Cobweb Applications Ltd., a consultancy that offers IT training and support in data security and analysis. He co-authored the book IIS Security and has written numerous technical articles for leading IT publications. Mike is the guest instructor for SearchSecurity's Web Security School and, as a SearchSecurity.com site expert, answers user questions on application and platform security.
