Network Security in 2025: Rethinking Wireless vs. Wired Assumptions
December 23, 2025
By Robin Hau
We’ve been having the wireless vs. wired security debate for years now. And honestly, the conversation has been re-framed in today’s work environment. Yes, wired connections are still inherently more secure — data traveling through a physical cable is harder to intercept than radio waves floating through the air. That fact hasn’t changed.
But the way we work HAS changed. Your teams are now scattered across home offices, coffee shops, and coworking spaces. Your applications live in the cloud. Telling everyone to plug into an Ethernet port for the best security isn’t realistic anymore.
So, the real question isn’t which one is more secure, but rather, how do you secure both.
Wi-Fi 7 Is Here — And It’s Not Just About Speed
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) started shipping in enterprise hardware this year, and there’s one thing IT teams should know: WPA3 encryption is now mandatory for these Wi-Fi 7 devices, especially in the cleaner 6 GHz band. Not just recommended, but MANDATORY!
That’s a big deal because WPA3 fixes a lot of the vulnerabilities that made wireless networks risky in the first place — things like offline dictionary attacks and deauthentication exploits. The new standard also requires Protected Management Frames, which means attackers can’t easily kick your devices off the network to capture handshake data.
There’s also Multi-Link Operation, which lets devices connect across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz simultaneously for increased throughput. Beyond the performance benefits that users will appreciate, this actually makes targeted attacks harder for bad actors to pull off.
If you’re still running WPA2 across your infrastructure, Wi-Fi 7 gives you a natural upgrade path to move to WPA3. If you are concerned about the time and resource investment rip and replace everything, the great news is that you can just start with sensitive areas and work outward.
Zero Trust Isn’t Optional Anymore
Now, here’s where things start to get really interesting. The old security model assumed that if you were inside the network, you could be trusted – as long as employees VPN in, we assumed they were good and could be trusted. That thinking is now dead.
Zero Trust has really flipped it around: verify everything, every time, regardless of where the connection comes from. It doesn’t matter if someone’s plugged into the office LAN or connecting from a hotel Wi-Fi — they all have to go through the same authentication and authorization checks.
About 60% of organizations have adopted Zero Trust in some form now. It’s certainly not bleeding-edge anymore. And for IT leaders, this changes the wireless vs. wired conversation entirely. When you’re verifying identity and device health continuously, the connection type becomes less critical. You’re no longer just relying on “being inside the perimeter” for security authorization.
The practical pieces to focus on today are now: identity-based access instead of network-based access, micro-segmentation so a breach doesn’t spread everywhere, and continuous verification throughout sessions rather than just at login.
The Hybrid Work Reality
Most security incidents we see these days aren’t sophisticated zero-day exploits. They’re caused by situations like someone connecting from an unsecured home network, or a contractor with more access than they need, or an employee who reused a password that ended up leaked somewhere else.
For wireless security, the basics still matter: implement WPA3 everywhere you can deploy it, create separate networks for guests and IoT devices, and leverage certificate-based authentication for corporate devices. And you should definitely turn off SSID broadcasting for internal networks — there’s no reason to advertise them.
For your remote workforce, consider replacing your traditional VPN with a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution. While VPNs give users broad network access once they’re connected, ZTNA gives them access to specific applications based on who they are and whether their device meets your security requirements. There is a very big difference between those two scenarios – and a difference that can matter immensely to your network’s security.
For wired infrastructure, be sure to segment your network so that compromising one area doesn’t hand over the keys to everything if an unauthorized user gains access. Don’t forget to also keep firmware updated and use 802.1X port authentication in areas handling sensitive data.
Where Does This Leave Us?
The wireless vs. wired debate made more sense when “inside the network” meant something. With distributed teams, cloud applications, and modern authentication frameworks, that distinction matters less than it used to.
Wired connections still make sense for stationary workstations handling sensitive data, server infrastructure, and your network backbone, but these days wireless really handles everything else. And now with Wi-Fi 7 and proper security controls, that’s completely fine and no longer something that keeps IT leaders up at night.
The bigger wins come from modernizing your security approach: upgrade aging wireless infrastructure, implement Zero Trust principles, and stop assuming that network location equals trustworthiness.
That’s where the real security improvements come from in 2025.
Do you have questions or concerns about your network security setup? Reach out to our team — we’re happy to talk through it and come up with a plan that works for your business.
Written in collaboration with
Robin Hau
Executive Vice President, Managed IT Services
Robin, founder of USWired, a Quatrro Business Support Services subsidiary, boasts 25+ years' experience in IT services. Under his leadership, USWired earned spots on prestigious lists as the Inc. 5000, MSP 501 and CRN MSP 500.
