The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently issued three new publications to help secure electronic mail and wireless local area networks (WLAN) and detect and prevent computer system or network intrusions.

Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security (Special Publication 800-45 Version 2) provides recommendations for securing mail servers that deliver, forward and store e-mail and mail clients that allow users to read, compose, send, receive and store e-mail. It also provides guidance on protecting individual e-mail messages and securing traditional and Web-based access to mailboxes.

Establishing Wireless Robust Security Networks: A Guide to IEEE 802.11i (Special Publication 800-97) provides detailed information on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11i standard for WLAN security and recommends ways to ensure the security of the WLAN operating environment. It also provides guidance on protecting the confidentiality and integrity of WLAN communications and authenticating users and devices.

Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) (Special Publication 800-94) helps organizations design, implement, configure, secure, monitor and maintain intrusion detection and prevention systems. It provides information on four classes of IDPS products: network- and host-based, wireless, and network behavior analysis software.
These publications are available.