Penn State Experimenting With a More Secure Wi-fi

I have studied to become certified as an ethical hacker.  Through my studies, I have stumbled upon the conclusion that many other security analysts have also come across.  WiFi is a major security issue.  Any person can get on a network through Wi-Fi and steal info, even if it is encrypted.  However, due to the easy accessibility of Wi-Fi and its ability to allow many people on the same network without a tangle of wires, wireless internet is the preferred method of internet access.  However, the quality and speed all depends on location relative to the router and the amount of users consuming bandwidth.

Since Wi-Fi is so faulty, researchers at Penn State have developed what they believe to be the future of wireless internet.  Penn State is utilizing laser diodes that convert data signals to light and having photo diodes decipher the light signal to translate it back to the ones and zeros we have come to know and love.

The pros of this system are immediately obvious. This system does not require the user to maintain a direct line of sight, because light bounces off walls (as long as they’re not black). Your data is much more secure because the network can be restricted to a single room, which could then send the data through panels on walls that are wired together, forming a simple home network.  Also, the team is already hitting the 1GB/sec ballpark, allowing hi-def streaming.  Also, if an attempted hack is noticed by the network, security system, or firewall, the network would simply turn off the light connecting the device to the router, and hacking would be rendered a much, much harder task than the easily breakable Wi-Fi connections we have now.

The only con I can think of now is that to make full use of this technology, one would have to setup a complicated network of wires in one’s walls, forcing users to custom build houses.  Of course, I could be proved wrong, and the system could turn out to require merely a simple modem connection setup, but the aforementioned network would require a lot of wood-work.  Furthermore, what about all of our mobile devices that Americans have come to love? Packing a multitude of diodes on a small cellular devices won’t be a simple task.  These are the only hindrances I see in this technology, albeit a halter that could very easily bring this system to it’s knees, forcing us to continue to use juvenile Wi-Fi.

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