Most businesses have some form of a wireless network (WiFi) in place, but is it really necessary to set up a separate guest wireless access? There are a few good reasons why this is an important step to take. We know having WiFi is imperative for employees who move throughout the office, but it also makes sense to offer wireless access to your guests, customers, vendors, and auditors. It's a cybersecurity best practice to set up a guest wireless network that is segregated from the corporate network, and here's why.
As a business owner, you have made a substantial investment in your corporate wireless network. By opening up your corporate WiFi to outsiders and devices that you do not manage, your system could become compromised by outside cyberattacks and/or viruses. Here are two good reasons to deploy a guest wireless network: security and bandwidth. Let's take a look at both.
Security
By deploying a guest wireless network, you can control the who, what, and where. Leveraging a guest password controls the who, web filtering you have implemented at the firewall controls the what, and specific controls within the firewall and access point control the where.
For example, a password or web filtering would allow you to prevent a random “guest” from watching Netflix from your parking lot. Additionally, web filtering would allow you to restrict the type of sites that your guests can access, perhaps those more likely to contain malware.
Bandwidth
By carving off a portion of your wireless network specifically for guests, you can designate a certain amount of bandwidth just for guest traffic. This ensures business activities are not affected by guest activities. In addition, you can prioritize corporate activities over guest activities so that business traffic has access to 100% of the bandwidth available.
These are just some of the important points to consider as you look to provide your guests with wireless access. As with most technology, wireless technology is ever evolving making it easier and safer to grant access while improving the experience to the end user, whether guest or employee. A solid, well thought-out deployment plan will keep your business assets safe while providing your guests with a seamless experience.
Ross Taliaferro is a Systems Engineering Account Manager. As an Account Manager, Ross works closely with his clients to streamline their networks, bring new and better solutions to the table, and assist with IT planning to obtain business goals.
