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Accessing equipment buried in an IT rack located in a hot and cramped room can be difficult at best, even for the most intrepid IT professional. Often a terminal console is connected to the back of the rack to administrate routers, switches, concentrators or even uninterruptible power supplies. These ubiquitous ports and dial-up modems are used by equipment vendors to provide routine maintenance or firmware upgrades. The thought of using a wireless connection to provide remote access from the convenience of the IT professional’s office would be unthinkable because of the security issues found in Wi-Fi or the IEEE 802.11 standard. But what if there was security-hardened Wi-Fi serial port with strong user authentication and encryption algorithms that made it impervious to an outside intruder? Such a device might provide a ray of hope in a hot and often hostile IT equipment room.
Concerns about the security of wireless communications have led some organizations to adopt policies prohibiting wireless data links. SEL-3022 Wireless Encrypting Transceivers address those concerns by supplementing standard wireless communication security protocols (e.g., WEP) with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved 128-bit AES encryption and HMAC SHA-1 message authentication algorithms. SEL Encrypted Serial Port Software is included to encrypt serial-port data and send it to a remote SEL-3022, using the PC’s standard wireless Ethernet interface. Apply the SEL-3022 to lock out cyberintruders, improve personnel safety, protect equipment and increase physical security of IT equipment rooms.
A remote link allows the system administrator to protect equipment by keeping doors locked, which eliminates opportunities for intruders to gain access by following or coercing service personnel. This also reduces the number of physical keys that need to be in circulation, because you can grant wireless access only as appropriate. Secure remote access allows for routine maintenance and software upgrades. The SEL-3022 serial-to-IEEE 802.11 connection yields a cryptographically, authentically secure means for a truly wired equivalent protocol, which is not found in any other product.
The encrypted serial-port link between SEL transceivers implements a combination of SHA-1 and 128-bit secret key called HMAC SHA-1. The SEL-3022 ensures data integrity across the wireless operator interface by generating and appending a user-defined keyed HMAC SHA-1 checksum to the original message. The SEL-3022 then applies 128-bit AES encryption to the combination of the original message and HMAC SHA-1 checksum. This double protection (HMAC SHA-1 and 128-bit AES) means that all data are extremely well protected, with much more than 128 bits of data security.
In summary, the SEL-3022 wireless operator interface incorporates, in addition to WEP, double protection (HMAC SHA-1 and 128-bit AES) that results in well over 128 bits of data security in any transmitted message, and it should be used for protecting critical serial-to-Wi-Fi/IEEE 802.11 applications, such as an IT administrator accessing an IT equipment rack from the safe harbor of a desk.
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