Enterprise Wireless LAN Security & WLAN Monitoring

Press Releases

AirDefense Awarded Fundamental Patents for Wireless Intrusion Prevention

Awarded patents are the broadest and earliest in the field

Atlanta, Georgia - June 12, 2006 - AirDefense, the innovator that launched the wireless LAN security market, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded the company patent number 7,058,796 titled “Method and system for actively defending a wireless LAN against attacks” on June 6, 2006. Filed on June 3, 2002, this is the earliest and broadest patent awarded in this field. It encompasses fundamental wireless session containment mechanisms that are required and currently used by all wireless intrusion prevention systems.

AirDefense, which has an installed base of more than 500 enterprise customers, is currently shipping its seventh generation system, AirDefense Enterprise 7.0. The system leverages the methods described in the awarded patent to provide the most comprehensive, scalable and accurate wireless LAN monitoring and security solution available on the market today. The specifications of the patent describe the core principles behind AirDefense’s solution:

Multiple detection techniques such as signature, protocol, policy and anomalous behavior
analysis for minimal false positives and day zero attack detection
Intelligent classification of authorized, unauthorized and rogue wireless devices
Automatic, regulatory compliant, AirTerminationTM using over the air session containment
Mapping the physical and logical location of wireless devices
Wireless policy and compliance management
Proactive wireless vulnerability assessment
Forensic data storage and incident analysis
Threat index-based techniques for enhanced manageability

“Without employing the fundamental techniques described in this patent, there is no real way to prevent a wireless intrusion,” said Dr. Amit Sinha, chief technology officer of AirDefense. “The methods outlined in this patent were pioneered by AirDefense and are currently used by all wireless intrusion prevention systems in the market. Without them these systems will be ineffective”.

AirDefense was also awarded patent number 7,042,852 titled “System and method for wireless LAN dynamic channel change with honeypot trap” on May 9, 2006. This patent describes advanced techniques to mitigate wireless attacks such as foiling attempts to break encryption in real-time. It also describes a framework where intruders can be trapped without disrupting authorized wireless communications.

“Traditional wired security paradigms do not translate effectively into wireless networks,” said Professor Fernando C. Colon Osorio, founder and director of the Wireless System Security Research Laboratory, which performs cutting-edge research on distributed network intrusion detection and counter measure systems. “The allowed patents describe some novel and comprehensive methods that AirDefense has pioneered for wireless security. The architectural scope of the patent claims is broad and will encompass any meaningful wireless intrusion protection solution.”

AirDefense currently has one additional patent that has been allowed and 18 more that are pending at the USPTO. AirDefense’s comprehensive and growing patent portfolio extends its wireless LAN intrusion prevention intellectual property into broader areas such as security for emerging wireless networks, spectral analysis and interference classification, performance troubleshooting, bandwidth optimization, forensic analysis and end-point wireless security.

About AirDefense
AirDefense, the market leader in anywhere, anytime wireless security and monitoring, is trusted by more Fortune 500 companies, healthcare organizations and high-security government agencies for enterprise wireless protection than any other wireless security provider. Ranked among Red Herring’s Top 100 Private Companies in North America, AirDefense products provide the most advanced solutions for rogue wireless detection, policy enforcement and intrusion prevention, both inside and outside an organization’s physical locations and wired networks. Common Criteria-certified, AirDefense enterprise-class products scale to support single offices as well as organizations with hundreds of locations around the globe. Founded in 2001, AirDefense is based in Alpharetta, GA, and serves hundreds of government agencies and blue chip corporations. For more information, please visit http://www.airdefense.net or call 770.663.8115.

AirDefense Contact:
Bill Keeler/Liz Serotte
Schwartz Communications for AirDefense
781 684-0770
airdefense@schwartz-pr.com