Guidelines for Securing Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)

A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a group of wireless networking devices within a limited geographic area, such as an office building, that exchange data through radio communications. The security of each WLAN is heavily dependent on how well each WLAN component—including client devices, access points (AP), and wireless switches—is secured throughout the WLAN lifecycle, from initial WLAN design and deployment through ongoing maintenance and monitoring. The purpose of this publication is to help organizations improve their WLAN security by providing recommendations for WLAN security configuration and monitoring. This publication supplements other NIST publications by consolidating and strengthening their key recommendations.