WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
An effort by the Wi-Fi Alliance to overcome the security limitations of WEP. WPA is subset of the IEEE's 802.11i wireless security specification.
Key to WPA is the use of Temporal Key Integrity
Protocol (TKIP) to bolster encryption of wireless packets. In a white paper, the alliance says:
TKIP provides important data encryption enhancements including a
per-packet key mixing function, a message integrity check (MIC) named Michael, an
extended initialization vector (IV) with sequencing rules, and a re-keying mechanism.
Through these enhancements, TKIP addresses all WEP's known vulnerabilities.
In addition, WPA will use 802.1x and EAP authentication, based on a central authentication server, such as RADIUS. The alliance says this will eliminate the need for running wireless VPN software.
Additional resources
WPA plugs holes in WEP
More details. Network World, 03/31/03.
WPA Overview
Wi-Fi Alliance paper. In PDF.
Wireless research center
Latest wireless news, analysis and research links from Network World Fusion.
Comments:
How secured WPA using TKIP???
by C.V.Sekhardash
Wired equivalent privacy(WEP) refers to the intent to provide a privacy service to wireless LAN users similar to that provided by the physical security inherent in a wired LAN.
Using WEP for security is better than nothing, but it only delays the inevitable situation in which someone breaks into the Network.
WPA is the use of Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to bolster encryption of wireless packets
WEP's IV size of 24 bits provides for 16,777,216 different RC4 cipher streams.
How secured WPA using TKIP???
Best regards,
Sekhardash.
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