Wireless Security | Using a wireless network |
Wireless Security
Radio waves transmitted between a wireless device and access points provide the weakest link between the wireless device and network servers. Wireless networking can be risky because information travels on radio waves, which is a public medium. The 802.11 standard includes security options to stop your information from being intercepted by unwanted sources. These are Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and WiFi Protected Access (WPA) encryption. Wireless encryption is only used between the wireless device and the AP. The AP decrypts the data before sending it along the wired network. The
Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
WEP security uses an encryption key between the wireless device and the AP. For WEP security, the wireless device and AP must use the same encryption key, and is manually typed by the wireless user and administrator. When activated, the wireless device encrypts the data with the encryption key for each frame using RSA RC4 ciphers.
There has been criticism of WEP security. WEP keys are static. They must be changed manually and frequently on both the wireless device and the APs. On a small company or network with a few users and APs, this is not a big issue. However, the more users and APs, changing WEP keys regularly can become an administrative headache and potentially error prone. Consequently, keys are rarely changed over months or years, leaving a hacker plenty of time to get the key and gain access to the network.
In small wireless networking environments, activating WEP security will significantly minimize outside infiltrators from getting in your network and is better than no security at all. However, it is still very important that you regularly change the WEP key, at least weekly; or monthly at most.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
WPA was developed to replace the WEP standard and provide a higher level of data protection for wireless networks. WPA provides two methods of authentication; through 802.1X authentication or
802.1X authenticates users through an EAP authentication server such as a RADIUS server authenticates each user before they can connect to the network. The encryption keys can be changed at varying intervals to minimize the opportunity for hackers to crack the key being used.
In a network setup where a RADIUS server is not a viable option, WPA also provides authentication with preshared keys using Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). Using TKIP, the encryption key is continuously
WPA provides a more robust security between the wireless device and the access point. The
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