Optical Wireless Eliminates WiFi's Biggest Flaw

What's the biggest flaw with WiFi, or any radio-based wireless network? It's easy to eavesdrop on the network traffic, since the wireless base station conveniently broadcasts the signal in all directions, even through walls, ceilings and floors. This is why the WEP security protocol was hacked open so quickly: the bad guys can just eavesdrop on the network from the parking lot.

Ask TJX what the cost of using WEP is -- they can't answer yet, because the bill keeps growing. For comparisons sake, how easy is it to eavesdrop from the parking lot on a Cat5 wired network? And how do you hide the telltale 2000 foot ethernet cable out to the van? Duct tape? I don't think so.

So, wired networks are more secure, but much less flexible. But radio waves aren't the only way to transmit network data. Some labs and companies are developing optical wireless networks, that deliver the flexibility and convenience of wireless, but make eavesdropping much more difficult. The reason? The optical signal simply can't pass through solid surfaces like walls and floors. This means if you live in a house or work in a building that has good physical security (like most homes and offices do) then you could set up an optical wireless network that is much harder to eavesdrop on compared to similar WiFi or other radio networks.

The most promising technologies for transmission included infrared (the same wavelength that your TV remote uses) and white LEDs (still in the lab). Stay tuned for more developments on this speedy high-bandwidth wireless medium.