Wireless Networks Questions Medium
The common wireless security protocols are:
1. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP): WEP was the first wireless security protocol introduced, but it is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a shared key authentication and encryption method.
2. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA): WPA is an improved security protocol that addresses the vulnerabilities of WEP. It uses a stronger encryption algorithm called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and provides better authentication mechanisms.
3. Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2): WPA2 is currently the most widely used wireless security protocol. It uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption algorithm, which is considered highly secure. WPA2 also supports stronger authentication methods like 802.1X and pre-shared keys (PSK).
4. Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3): WPA3 is the latest wireless security protocol, introduced in 2018. It further enhances the security of WPA2 by introducing new features like individualized data encryption, stronger password-based authentication, and protection against brute-force attacks.
5. Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP): EAP is not a specific wireless security protocol but rather a framework that allows for various authentication methods to be used in wireless networks. EAP is commonly used in conjunction with WPA2 or WPA3 to provide stronger authentication mechanisms such as certificate-based authentication or authentication through a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server.
It is important to note that the choice of wireless security protocol depends on the specific requirements and capabilities of the wireless network, as well as the devices and software being used.