It is a security protocol developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance in response to the weaknesses found in WEP. WPA is the acronym for Wi-Fi Protected Access. WEP does not provide a centralized key management system.īecause of these security flaws, WEP has been deprecated in favor of WPA WPA Changing keys especially on large networks is challenging.

Keys management is poorly implemented.

WEP is based on passwords this makes it vulnerable to dictionary attacks.

Weak Initial values combinations do not encrypt sufficiently.

The lower possible value of the secret key makes it easy to crack it. The total length of both the initial value and secret can either be 64 bits or 128 bits long. The length of the initial value (IV) is 24 bits long while the secret key can either be 40 bits or 104 bits long. The stream cipher input is made up of an initial value (IV) and a secret key.

WEP uses the RC4 encryption algorithm to create stream ciphers.

This leads to unauthorized access to the network. The bits in the encrypted stream and the checksum can be modified by the attacker so that the packet is accepted by the authentication system. CRC32 integrity check can be compromised by capturing at least two packets.

The integrity of the packets is checked using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC32).

WEP has significant design flaws and vulnerabilities. If the encrypted challenge matches the AP value, then access is granted. The station encrypts the challenge with its key then responds. Shared Key Authentication (SKA) – This method sends to an encrypted challenge to the station requesting access. Open System Authentication (OSA) – this methods grants access to station authentication requested based on the configured access policy.

WEP works by encrypting the data been transmitted over the network to keep it safe from eavesdropping. Its goal was to provide the privacy equivalent to that provided by wired networks. It was developed for IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards. WEP is the acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy. Let’s look at some of the most commonly used authentication techniques. Since the network is easily accessible to everyone with a wireless network enabled device, most networks are password protected. If it is password protected, then you will need the password to gain access. If the network is not password protected, then you just have to click on connect. Most devices (if the wireless network option is turned on) will provide you with a list of available networks. You will also need to be within the transmission radius of a wireless network access point. You will need a wireless network enabled device such as a laptop, tablet, smartphones, etc.

Unknown computer in my network