WECA to boost security requirements
 
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In recent discussions about wireless LAN security, I've noted that the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance - the group that certifies 802.11-compliant and interoperable wireless LAN products - stresses that for most organizations, the use of the Wired Equivalent Privacy protocol will likely be just one component of an enterprise's wireless security strategy.
WEP offers basic 40-bit encryption; the group recommends also using IP Security or taking advantage of vendor-proprietary encryption that uses 128-bit (or stronger) encryption algorithms if more robust security is needed.
A point to note here is that for now, the only WEP implementation WECA requires and certifies is the 40-bit encryption. The 128-bit (or higher) implementations are not interoperable among different vendors' products, so you'd have to commit to a single vendor if you want to use the proprietary higher-encoding schemes.
" Bummer, " wrote one reader, when discovering this requirement.
However, WECA has encouraging news: The group plans to begin certifying 128-bit encryption interoperability among different vendors' IEEE 802.11b products beginning late this year. Interoperable 128-bit products could be available as early as February 2002, the group says, with one caveat: If they don't make it out in early 2002, certification of 128-bit interoperability among products won't be available till the first quarter of 2003, because the group only changes its certification protocol once a year.
Above and beyond 40-bit WEP, notes WECA, enterprises can also use a firewall and virtual private network as security measures.
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Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Campbell, Calif., who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com.
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