Oct 6, 2025
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6 min read
Introdution
We’ve entered an age of total connectivity - and with it, an airspace full of opportunity for attackers.
The Connectivity Revolution - and Its Hidden Cost
Modern campuses and facilities are being redesigned around wireless connectivity. Buildings are becoming “wireless by design” - from corporate communications and guest WiFi to building management, operational technology, and retail systems. Examples include:
POS (Point of Sale) systems - payment terminals and handheld scanners that transmit transactions over wireless links.
IoT (Internet of Things) devices - environmental sensors, smart locks, cameras, and controllers.
OT (Operational Technology) systems - building sensors and control networks that run critical infrastructure.
This brings enormous operational benefit - flexibility, lower cabling costs, and faster deployment. But it also produces a new reality: an expansive wireless attack surface - the collection of all radio signals, devices, and networks that exist across the campus airspace.
The Wild, Wild WiFi Era - The Growing Gap Between Connectivity and Security
Analysts are now recognizing what security teams have long suspected: traditional security tools were never designed to protect the wireless layer.
According to Gartner (The Need for Wireless Airspace Defense, Jan 2024):
“Wireless attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, yet most network security and online fraud prevention products in the market do not adequately address the risks.”
This assessment aligns perfectly with what we observe in the field. The wireless environment in modern campuses has become the new frontier of risk - a space filled with unmanaged devices, shadow networks, and overlapping systems operating without unified security oversight.
We call it the Wild, Wild WiFi Era: a time where connectivity outpaces control, and where attackers exploit the airspace itself to compromise privacy, disrupt operations, and endanger continuity.
Real-World Wireless Threats
In this era, proximity attackers can leverage a range of low-cost, high-impact tools. The threats extend beyond data theft - they can disrupt entire facilities:
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks - when an attacker intercepts or manipulates communication between devices, often using a rogue access point or shadow device.
RF jamming (radio-frequency interference) - where a RF jammer transmits noise to block wireless communications such as WiFi, Bluetooth, or IoT signals. This is a form of Denial of Service (DoS) that can instantly disrupt POS terminals, access control systems, wireless alarms, and even OT operations.
An RF jamming event can cause an immediate loss of service - point-of-sale systems freeze, sensors stop reporting, and building automation halts. A single jammer can paralyze a connected facility without ever breaching a firewall.
The Root Cause - Fragmentation and Lack of Unified Management
The reason this persists isn’t purely technological - it’s organizational.
Wireless connectivity is typically seen as an IT service, focused on availability and performance. But connectivity is not the same as security.
Responsibility is fragmented:
IT ensures users can connect.
OT maintains operational systems.
Facilities deploy smart devices.
Security focuses on networks and endpoints,
No single team owns the airspace, even though it’s now part of the organization’s critical infrastructure. The result: no unified visibility, no consistent controls, and no coordinated defense against proximity or RF-based attacks.
PASM - From Fragmentation to Unified Visibility
This is where PASM (Proximity Attack Surface Management) becomes essential.
If you’re encountering the term for the first time, PASM is both a framework and a technology platform designed to provide continuous discovery, monitoring, and defense of all wireless and proximity-based activity within an organization’s physical environment.
In practical terms, PASM enables organizations to:
Map every active signal and device within the airspace.
Detect rogue access points, man-in-the-middle attempts, and RF jamming patterns in real time.
Identify unmanaged “shadow” networks that operate outside IT oversight.
Provide location intelligence that guides on-site security teams to the physical source of a threat.
Establish unified accountability across IT, OT, facilities, and vendor management.
PASM turns an invisible, fragmented attack surface into a managed and measurable domain.
Practical Priorities - Protecting Privacy, Data, and Continuity
To strengthen resilience in the Wild WiFi era, organizations should:
Establish unified visibility - continuously monitor the wireless airspace across all frequencies and protocols.
Define ownership - assign clear roles for wireless security across IT, OT, and facilities.
Detect and localize interference - use sensors and analytics to pinpoint RF jamming or rogue networks.
Segment and isolate - separate vendor and IoT traffic from sensitive corporate systems.
Include proximity threats in testing - simulate wireless denial, rogue APs, and shadow networks in red-team exercises.
The Bottom Line
We’ve moved from a world of structured networks to one of dynamic airspace.
The modern campus is an open ecosystem - a digital city operating over radio waves. Without unified visibility and security, that ecosystem becomes a playground for proximity attackers.
As Gartner notes, most network security tools fail to address this reality.
The organizations that succeed in the Wild WiFi era will be those that treat airspace as infrastructure - and secure it accordingly.
Pryvaxy
Redefining Proximity Security.
