WPA

From CryptoDox, The Online Encyclopedia on Cryptography and Information Security

WiFi Protected Access (WPA) is a security standard adopted by the WiFi Alliance consortium. WiFi compliance ensures interoperability between different manufacturer's equipment.

WPA delivers a level of security way beyond anything that WEP can offer, bridges the gap between WEP and IEEE 802.11i networks, and has the advantage that the firmware in older equipment may be upgradeable.

WPA was released to address the security issues observed with WEP. The improvements in WPA can be summarized as:

• The length of the IV has been increased from 24-bits to 48-bits.
• WPA avoids using known weak IV values. A different secret key is used for each packet.
• Master Keys are never used directly in WPA. A hierarchy of keys is used, all derived from the Master.
• Secure key management is built-in to WPA, so key management isn't an issue with WPA.

See Also

• WEP
• WPA2
• IEEE 802.11

External Links

• WPA vs WEP: How your Choice Affects your Wireless Network Security