Engineers tend to be compulsive workaholics, no? Make just one more tweak to make the flange a little stronger. Change the metal thickness there. Let's use plastic here instead. Changing to a smaller bearing will work just as well, and save a few cents in the process. Mounting the board here, and routing the cable this way will better protect these elements.

Maybe your firm's competition is working on something similar, and it hasn't occurred to them that such changes would make a better mouse trap. It's always good to have a competitive edge. Would you risk that edge by asking a stranger in an airport what they think? Of course not. If you're using wireless, however, you just might be inviting a competitor to have a look.

According to a TechRepublic article, "IT professionals as well as users must start viewing public wireless networks as a wilderness where many systems could become easy prey for attackers. After all, why should a hacker go to all the trouble of breaking into a corporate network when an open wireless network provides easy access to a corporate system?" Corporate access, with today's public Wi-Fi networks, is only part of the problem. Think of a tradeshow like Manufacturing Week, for example. Competitors are all around you; airports, hotels, and show halls, for instance. Some of the related hotspots are public and some are not, but wireless all around—with a dense population of engineers. If someone wants to badly enough, there are so many opportunities to see what you were working on after-hours last night.

Crime is increasing thanks to Wi-Fi. According to a New York Times article, "In the wired world, it was often difficult for lawbreakers to make themselves untraceable on the Internet. In the wireless world, with scores of open Wi-Fi networks in some neighborhoods, it could hardly be easier." It's only a matter of time before business related intrusions become a real concern. Hopefully, businesses can stay ahead of the curve, or at least keep up with it.

Are they? It seems not, at least in the UK. Plus, take a look at this piece on the BBC site about a Wi-Fi security survey which includes the U.S. "A survey of Wi-Fi networks in London, Frankfurt, New York and San Francisco by RSA Security found more than a third had basic security features turned off. By contrast last year's survey found that 15% of firms had failed to take basic steps to improve security." Sounds encouraging, doesn't it? Wait. It gets better. "RSA said that 26% of Wi-Fi networks found in London used default settings compared to 30% in Frankfurt, 31% in New York and 28% in San Francisco."

So far, this considers only computers. What about, for example, office equipment? That's right, office equipment, as even many of today's copiers (see 6th paragraph) have IP addresses and Internet connectivity so that you can, for example, scan a document and send it—right from the machine's control panel, without ever touching a PC—to a single address or group. (If it has an IP address, it can be pinged. If it can be pinged, it can be hacked.) Imagine the documents that are being scanned and sent from the offices of engineering firms. Legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley or HIPAA is beginning to address issues that ultimately lead to matters of document and data security, but we're only starting to skim the surface of what's possible. Remember also that the innocuous looking copier sometimes has its own hard drive, with documents stored in queue. It's not difficult to start making connections—mentally, hardwired, or wirelessly.

Or am I just being paranoid again?