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802.11i [1] is a standard within the IEEE [2] 802.11 [3] working group
which deals with enhanced security for 802.11 [4] based networks
(802.11a [5], 802.11b [6]/g [7] etc).
WEP [8] security, currently a part of the 802.11 [9] standard, does a
decent job of maintaining security of a Wireless LAN [10] against the
general public. However, there are some decent hackers out there who
have the ability to crack even a WEP [11] protected WLAN [12].
WEP [13] really only provides a method for authenticating radios to
access points [14], but not access points [15] to radio NICs. As a
result of this one-way authentication, a hacker is able to 'trick' the
network in a variety of ways to gain access, or snoop on data
traversing the network.
802.11i [16] will address this problem, when ratified by the IEEE
[17], by implementing a two-way "mutual" authentication mechanism.
802.11i [18] is expected to solve this problem at two levels.
Firstly, using TKIP [19] ("Temporal Key Integrity Protocol", aka
WEP2), which ensures each station on the network has its own unique
key, and the key changes shape on a dynamic basis. While TKIP [20] is
better than WEP [21], it still has flaws, and hense is considered a
temporary solution to the problem.
Along with TKIP [22], which will use RC4 [23] encryption, the 802.11i
[24] standard is expected to also include the AES [25] ("Advanced
Encryption Standard") protocol, which provides much stronger
encryption of packets. The use of AES [26] may not be adopted, as it
requires a decent processor to crunch the numbers at a decent speed,
and this comes at a price.
802.11i [27] is still in the drafting stage, and as such this
information is subject to change. 802.11i [28] support is expected to
appear in products by early 2003. The 802.11i [29] task group's
progress can be monitored on the IEEE website [30].
Links:
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[1] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[2] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?IEEE
[3] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11
[4] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11
[5] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11a
[6] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11b
[7] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[8] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WEP
[9] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11
[10] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WLAN
[11] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WEP
[12] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WLAN
[13] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WEP
[14] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AccessPoint
[15] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AccessPoint
[16] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[17] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?IEEE
[18] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[19] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?TKIP
[20] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?TKIP
[21] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WEP
[22] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?TKIP
[23] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?RC4
[24] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[25] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AES
[26] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AES
[27] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[28] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[29] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11i
[30] http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/Reports/tgi_update.htm
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