A heavily monitored wireless network was quietly set up this summer to lure hackers and keep track of attacks. Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) created the network to study the methods of wireless vandals. It is the first wireless version of . . .
A heavily monitored wireless network was quietly set up this summer to lure hackers and keep track of attacks. Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) created the network to study the methods of wireless vandals. It is the first wireless version of a so-called honeynet, networks of servers designed to lure in hackers and then monitor their actions. "It is important to see how the bad guys are breaking into systems using not just wired networks, but wireless networks as well," said Lance Spitzner, founder of the Honeynet Project, the group that first created honeynets.

Wireless networks have gained phenomenal popularity for their ability to let people connect to the Internet from anywhere close to an access point. However, the technology's security has been widely criticized, with the U.S. cybersecurity czar calling it one of the five reasons the nation's infrastructure is insecure.