LAS VEGAS -- Interop -- Here's a welcome changeup for security pros: Instead of wireless technology being a major security threat, it's getting reworked by vendors like Aruba, Meru, and Shibon Systems to improve enterprise security.

No, what follows is not a paean to WPA 2.0 and the many wonders of broadband wireless in 802.11n (or just "n" as it's referred to in the aisles and briefing rooms here). Rather, wireless apps are getting reinvented in ways that handle access; track assets and personnel; and incorporate policy networking, giving end users different rights, depending on who and where they are.

"This is the year for wireless to emerge as a solution, instead of a vulnerability, for sure," says Chris Silva, analyst, enterprise wireless for Forrester.

In that vein, Meru trotted out its EzRF location manager suite, which uses WiFi-enabled tags to track users and pinpoint rogue access points (APs), managed APs, individual clients, VOIP handsets, and PDAs. In short, the system uses architectural drawings as a grid on which to plot and manage wireless assets. The vendor touted its "single channel virtual cell architecture" as a contrast to other vendors that use multiple WiFi channels (1, 6, 11, e.g.) in a cell as a way that makes EzRF more accurate, to within five to 15 feet.

Meru also said it has partnered with AeroScout and Ekahau for their wireless location policy and engine technologies.

A 500-AP license for EzRF will cost $14,000 and will be available in June. Paul Curto, senior technical marketing manager for Meru, said the vendor's also working on tying together quality of service with extended service set identifiers (ESSIDs), which permit WiFi devices to communicate on a particular WLAN. The QOS/ESSID combo would bolster the policy networking aspects of the system and give enterprises more control over how bandwidth gets allocated, and by whom.

Aruba took location-based technology a bit further with new software called Mobility Access Point that contains role-based user access control, stateful firewalling, and split tunneling for Aruba APs. Aruba bills the product as "follow-me security," which associates security and access policies with individual users, as opposed to specific network ports. MAP is expected to ease secure connectivity challenges for road warriors and mobile workers connecting from hotel rooms or public WiFi hotspots.

Shimon Systems also introduced a hybrid wireless security product this week that combines biometrics with WiFi access. Its fingerprint-based Bio-NetGuard authenticates users for specific AP access. Bio-NetGuard uses fingerprint readers that are built into laptops or USB and PCMCIA card sensors and can block users from logging into wireless networks that aren't equipped with WPA or WPA 2.0, says Baldev Krishan, president and CEO of Shimon.

The device is available in a fingerprint-only version, as well as a two-factor model that uses fingerprints and passwords. Bio-NetGuard works with APs from Bountiful, Cisco, D-Link, Linksys, and NetGear, with others to follow once interoperability certifications have been completed. Pricing is based on the number of users and starts at $495 for a 10-user license and the hardware.

— Terry Sweeney, Editor In Chief, Dark Reading