Enterprise Wireless LAN Security & WLAN Monitoring

Department of Defense

DoD Wireless Directive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How can you meet the key policy requirements?

The Department of Defense (DoD) Directive Number 8100.2 was issued on April 14, 2004. The Directive covers the use of commercial wireless devices, services, and technologies in the DoD Global Information Grid (GIG). The Directive spells out policies for deploying secure wireless networks, and requires monitoring of those wireless networks for compliance. Additionally, the Directive states that wireless networks are banned from use in certain areas, and it covers policies for banned and authorized wireless networks. The Directive is effective immediately.

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To whom does it apply?

The DoD Wireless Directive applies to all DoD organizations,including:

The Office of the Secretary of Defense

The Military Departments

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense

The Combatant Command

The Defense Agencies

The DoD Field Activities

All DoD Contractors

Other DoD organizations

The Directive refers to these agencies collectively as the DoD Components.

The Directive applies to all commercial wireless devices, services, and technologies, including voice and data capabilities. This includes, but is not limited to, commercial wireless networks and Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) such as laptop computers with wireless capability, cellular/Personal Communications System (PCS) devices, audio/video recording devices, scanning devices, remote sensors, messaging devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and any other commercial wireless devices capable of storing, processing, or transmitting information.

The following people are responsible for directive compliance:

Assistant Secretary of Defense
Director, Defense Information Systems Agency
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
Director, Defense Security Service

Director, National Security Agency
OSD Principal Staff Assistants
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Commander, U.S. Strategic Command
Heads of the DoD Components

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The DoD Wireless Directive requires heads of the DoD Components to submit to the DoD CIO, within 180 days of this Directive, specific implementation timelines for compliance, and ensure that all new commercial wireless procurements comply with this Directive immediately. The Directive asks DAAs (Designated Approving Authorities) to:

Ensure that wireless networks do not introduce wireless vulnerabilities that undermine the assurance of interconnected systems
Include intrusion detection methodologies for the wireless systems.

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AirDefense's 24x7 monitoring solution allows organizations to create and enforce DoD compliant wireless security policies

Section:	Requirements:	Solution:	AirDefense
4.1.1	Monitoring for Strong Authentication	AirDefense allows organizations to set authentication and personal identification policy and monitor for its compliance (click for more).
4.1.2	Monitoring for Strong Encryption	AirDefense allows organizations to set encryption policies and monitor for compliance (click for more)
4.1.4	Mitigation of Denial of Service and other Disruptions	AirDefense identifies impending threats, and attacks against the wireless network by correlating information gathered from the smart sensors (click for more)
4.2 & 4.3	Banning Wireless Devices in Designated Areas/Monitoring	AirDefense recognizes all wireless LAN devices, which include access points, wireless LAN user stations, soft APs, and specialty devices (click for more)
4.4	Removing Wireless Personal Area networks (WPAN) / Bluetooth Devices	AirDefense BlueWatch scans for the presence of Bluetooth devices and identifies rogue and insecure Bluetooth devices...
4.5	Active Monitoring of Unauthorized Access of DoD IS	AirDefense provides 24x7 active monitoring using passive sensors and a strong centralized policy manager ensures that WLANs are conforming to the security policy (click for more)

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AirDefense solutions assist the U.S. military secure their wireless LANs and protect mission critical information. To learn more about AirDefense solutions for the Department of Defense, click here.