5.0 Security Fundamentals

5.9 Wireless Security Protocols

Wireless security protocols are protocols designed to secure wireless networks from unauthorized access and protect sensitive data from eavesdropping and tampering. Some of the most commonly used wireless security protocols are:

1. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP): This was the first widely used wireless security protocol and it uses a shared secret key to encrypt data. However, WEP has been proven to have numerous security vulnerabilities and is no longer considered a secure solution.

2. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA): This was developed as a response to the weaknesses of WEP. WPA uses Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to dynamically generate a unique encryption key for each data packet, making it more secure than WEP. There are two versions of WPA: WPA Personal (PSK) and WPA Enterprise.

3. Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2): This is the latest and most secure version of the WPA standard. It uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption, which is considered to be one of the most secure encryption algorithms. Like WPA, there are two versions of WPA2: WPA2 Personal (PSK) and WPA2 Enterprise.

4. Wi-Fi Protected Access III (WPA3): This is the latest and most secure wireless security protocol, which provides improved security for personal and enterprise Wi-Fi networks. It includes advanced security features such as enhanced encryption, improved password-based authentication, and secure handshake protocols.

In addition to these security protocols, there are other wireless security measures that can be used to improve the security of a wireless network, such as MAC filtering, disabling unnecessary services, using strong passwords, and enabling network encryption.

Differentiate WPA2 Personal WPA2 Enterprise

WPA2 Personal (WPA2-PSK) and WPA2 Enterprise (WPA2-EAP) are two different versions of the Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) wireless security protocol. The key difference between the two is the method used for authentication:

1. WPA2 Personal (WPA2-PSK): This version of WPA2 uses a shared Pre-Shared Key (PSK) for authentication. The PSK is a password or passphrase that is shared between the wireless access point (AP) and all wireless clients that want to connect to the network. All clients use the same PSK to encrypt and decrypt data, making it easy to set up and manage. However, WPA2-PSK is less secure than WPA2-EAP as the PSK can be easily compromised if it is not strong enough.

2. WPA2 Enterprise (WPA2-EAP): This version of WPA2 uses an authentication server, such as a RADIUS server, to validate the credentials of wireless clients before allowing them to connect to the network. The authentication server uses the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) to communicate with the wireless clients, and each client must have unique credentials. WPA2-EAP is more secure than WPA2-PSK as it requires individual authentication for each client and is typically used in enterprise networks where a higher level of security is required.

In conclusion, WPA2-PSK is suitable for small home networks, while WPA2-EAP is more appropriate for larger, enterprise networks.