Wireless security, partnerships, and DACs

The Chicago Tribune recently reported about a team of computer security consultants that investigated wireless network security. They spent several hours in the Chicago area with two laptops and inexpensive wireless hardware looking for points where radio signals would permit access to computer networks.

The team discovered 575 separate wireless computer networks that could be accessed from the street, according to the Chicago Tribune report. Nearly 1/3 of the 575 networks used security measures. The remaining 2/3 did not use even the most basic forms of encryption. Further, according to the report, 1/3 of the detected systems retained the basic default settings on their equipment, making it easy for a hacker to access them.

Hackers could gain access to sensitive engineering, manufacturing, or financial data. Industrial spies could learn about the engineering and marketing plans of their competitors. Information could be lifted from corporate databases without anyone knowing.

The consultants used two off-the-shelf laptop computers in their investigation, along with wireless cards and antennas built by Lucent Technologies that are available for a few hundred dollars. According to the report, they used software, called Net Stumbler, that can be downloaded for free from the internet.

According to the report, a company can acquire a fair amount of network protection by using an encryption scheme known as wired equivalent privacy (WEP). Customizing the system's name and settings will further improve security. Virtually all wireless network systems are WEP-enabled, according to the consultants quoted in the article. Users should activate the built-in security to significantly reduce their vulnerability. Small investments of time and money can activate wireless network protections that would be comparable to installing a burglar system in your home.

The Chicago Tribune also cites a recent joint FBI/Computer Security Institute survey, which indicates that computer security breaches are still too common and that many companies remain unprepared to deal with them. Of the 503 respondents to this survey, 40% reported an outside hacker gaining access to internal systems. Also, 21% of these respondents could not even say if their web sites were ever compromised.

Analog Devices has introduced the industry's first 14-bit, ±10-V, bipolar output, digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with a serial interface, providing a unique solution for industrial control and instrumentation applications. The 14-bit AD5531 offers high accuracy and is pin and software-compatible with the 12-bit AD5530. Both chips use a three-wire serial interface compatible with the SPI, QSPI, Microwire, and DSP interface standards. Applications are suited for digital gain and offset control, process control, automatic test equipment, and general-purpose data acquisition and instrumentation.

Other features include power down, data read back, and daisy chaining of parts over a single interface. Operating current is less than 2 mA and less than 50 µA in the power-down mode. Onchip reference buffers allow use of a single positive reference voltage.

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