Wi-Fi - Security

Security has been one of the major deficiencies in WiFi, though better encryption systems are now becoming available. Encryption is optional in WiFi, and three different techniques have been defined. These techniques are given here −

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

An RC4-based 40-or 104-bit encryption with a static key.

WiFi Protected Access (WPA)

This is a new standard from the WiFi Alliance that uses the 40 or 104-bit WEP key, but it changes the key on each packet. That changing key functionality is called the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP).

IEEE 802.11i/WPA2

The IEEE is finalized the 802.11i standard, which is based on a far more robust encryption technique called the Advanced Encryption Standard. The WiFi Alliance designate products that comply with the 802.11i standard as WPA2.

However, implementing 802.11i requires a hardware upgrade.