Managing Bring Your Own Device Services in Campus Wireless Networks

Abstract

We consider the security issues associated with bring your own device (BYOD) services on campus. More than 70% of the cyber users at the studied university access wireless campus networks through BYOD. Although wireless access is convenient for users, its network management remains a problem. We analyze existing BYOD solutions that are applicable only to particular wireless network architectures, that require users to register their devices to a management platform, or that install client software. Moreover, commercial software is often prohibitively expensive for educational institutes. We found that most users enter their usernames and passwords multiple times a day, resulting in inconvenient user authentications. Thus, we propose an EZ-Net BYOD service management system that imposes a fail-through authentication function to an existing wireless local area network mobility controller via multiple externally established authentication servers. This solution requires no client-side configuration and is not limited to any particular brand of wireless network equipment. The solution is evaluated and deployed on campus. The proposed EZ-Net BYOD system saves an average of 60 min of authentication time per month for each user and allows the studied university to save tens of thousands of US dollars on licensing fees for BYOD service management software.