When it comes to wireless connections, the best advice is to assume there is someone out there trying to look at your network. Securing those connections sometimes means limiting access from remote locations and even the home office, but the threats are real and the consequences are major.

By Robert Regis Hyle

Wireless tools are making the job easier for agents and claims adjusters in the field, but with those benefits comes an important question: What about security? By virtue of the technologys ubiquity, wireless security has taken on as much prominence within insurance IT departments as internal network security. We assume everybody who connects to the network has the potential to be hostile, says Kevin Yeamans, chief information security officer for GE Insurance Solutions. The assumption IT departments must make is everything that can touch your network can harm your network. Without taking that kind of stance, youre really just kind of closing your eyes or turning your head from it, he says.