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WEP
Basic WLAN security has a standard known as wireless encryption protocol (WEP), which is part of the 802.11b standard and is included in most enterprise-class wireless systems. But WEP is flawed and can be easily hacked into using tools readily available on the Internet. The Wi-Fi Alliance is developing its own standard known as Wi-Fi Protective Access (WPA). A more ambitious approach is being taken with the 802.1i and 802.1x standards. The 802.1i is focusing on a new encryption protocol that improves on WEP called temporal key integrity protocol.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol, specified in the
Wireless Fidelity
(
) standard,
b, that is designed to provide a wireless local area network (
)
with a level of security and privacy comparable to what is usually expected of a wired LAN.
A wired local area network (
) is generally protected by physical security mechanisms
(controlled access to a building, for example) that are effective for a controlled physical
environment, but may be ineffective for WLANs because radio waves are not necessarily bound
by the walls containing the network. WEP seeks to establish similar protection to that offered
by the wired network's physical security measures by encrypting data transmitted over the WLAN.
Data
protects the vulnerable wireless link between
and access points; once
this measure has been taken, other typical LAN security mechanisms such as password protection,
end-to-end encryption, virtual private networks (
), and
can be put in place
to ensure privacy.
A research group from the University of California at Berkeley recently published a report citing
"major security flaws" in WEP that left WLANs using the protocol vulnerable to attacks (called
wireless equivalent privacy attacks). In the course of the group's examination of the technology,
they were able to intercept and modify transmissions and gain access to restricted networks. The
Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) claims that WEP - which is included in many
networking products - was never intended to be the sole security mechanism for a WLAN, and that,
in conjunction with traditional security practices, it is very effective.
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