Buffalo Technology WLM2-G54 manual Security Features, Authentication, Privacy

5.0Features

The Buffalo AirStation Intelligent access point provides the features necessary in today’s business environment, with a high level of reliability and security. Use of these features along with VPN will allow the user to have the highest security a WLAN can offer. For minimum security measures Buffalo recommends the use of 128bit WEP and registering client MAC addresses in the AirStation. Some of the noteworthy features are shown below. Other features are listed in Section 9.

5.1Security Features

The WLM2-G54 model provides three levels of security: authentication, privacy and access authorization. The first level consists of checking and issuing the user’s authentication by EAP and 802.1x, similar to the Windows XP authentication process.

The second is encrypting user’s data with WEP, TKIP or MIC encryption algorithms. Finally, granting the data access privilege only after the user’s authentication is offered by exchanging a specific key under the 802.1x method.

5.1.1 Authentication

The IEEE802.1x security method imposes access port control at the access point level for each user communication signal. The EAP function in a client PC performs an authenti- cation login to the authorization server, such as RADIUS, through the WLM2-G54 access point when the link is established and before data transmission takes place.

EAP – Extensible Authentication Protocol is a function in a client PC, which initiates the authentication login to a network through an AP such as the WLM2-G54. When the client is approved and authenticated for a commu- nication session, the client receives a unique WEP key from a network security server such as RADIUS.

802.1x – Known as .1x, this is the key exchange standard used between a client and an AP for the user’s authentication process. Configuration for a large network is much easier since individual WEP settings are no longer required for each client. In addition, access management is performed easily in the RADIUS server environment, making this feature valuable for network administration.

5.1.2 Privacy

Several encryption algorithms can be used to mix with the data for protecting privacy. WEP is the encryption method adopted in the current WLAN industry. Because WEP was found to be vulnerable, WEP will be replaced with a more powerful Advanced Encryption System (AES) in the future so that even higher levels of security will be available. Meanwhile, use of TKIP and MIC can be an alternative to AES.

WEP – Wired Equivalent Privacy is a security method for wireless networking using the RC4 encryption algorithm. WEP consists of two elements: an Initialization Vector (IV) of 24 bits that describes the packet header information, and current data of 40 or 104 bits. For example, a 128bit WEP key means a 24bit IV plus a 104bit data encryption and they are encrypted separately.

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