Types of WLAN Security
Service Set Identifier (SSID)
- Required by all clients to include this in every packet
- Included as plain text ?Easy to break
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
- Requires that user enter a key manually (to NIC and AP)
- Communications encrypted using this key
- Short key (40-128 bits) ? Easy to break by “brute force”
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)
- WEP keys created dynamically after correct login
- Requires a login (with password) to a server
- After logout, WEP keys discarded by the server
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) – new standard
- A longer key, changed for every packet
- If WLAN becomes a problem, users can switch to wired LAN easily