Concern Over Safety Heats Up With Wi-Fi; SECURITY; As hot spots pop up, so do firms out to protect against wireless hacking.(SERIES: COMMUNICATIONS)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)

Byline: DONNA HOWELL

The number of Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S. is growing from 3,400 in 2002 to an expected 32,800 this year and almost double that by 2008.

Wireless technology brings the promise of information anywhere.

Yet it can mean security breaches everywhere.

Wi-Fi risks include novel attack types, but also routine worms and viruses.

"I see that at hot spots a lot," said Richard Rushing, chief security officer at Wi-Fi security firm AirDefense.

Some hot spots have what's called client isolation. It keeps users from sending traffic to other users on the network, although all can still access the Internet.

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