Wireless Internet - WPA Security Encryption

Security is probably the number one concern expressed by IT (information technology) managers considering a wireless implementation. Each technology introduces different wireless security risks, so it's well worth doing some research to understand those risks up front.

The main known wireless security risks with WLANs (wireless local area network) include:

Insertion attacks. Insertion attacks occur when an unauthorized device is placed on the wireless network without going through a security process and review.
Intercepting and monitoring wireless traffic. An attacker can sniff and capture legitimate traffic on a wireless network. Wireless sniffing requires the attacker to typically be within range of the wireless traffic.
Misconfiguration. Generally, factory settings for wireless devices are set to the least secure mode possible, leaving proper security configuration to the IT administrator.
Jamming. The principles of a denial of service attack for a wired network can be applied to wireless traffic as well. Legitimate traffic gets jammed because illegitimate traffic overwhelms the frequencies.
Client-to-client attacks. Two wireless clients can talk directly to each other, bypassing the base station. Because of this, each client must protect itself from other clients.

Wireless networks are very common, both for organizations and individuals. Many laptop computers have wireless cards pre-installed for the buyer. The ability to enter a network while mobile has great benefits. However, wireless networking has many security issues. Crackers have found wireless networks relatively easy to break into, and even use wireless technology to crack into non-wireless networks. Network administrators must be aware of these risks, and stay up-to-date on any new risks that arise. Also, users of wireless equipment must be aware of these risks, so as to take personal protective measures.

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is a security technology for wireless networks. WPA improves on the authentication and encryption features of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). In fact, WPA was developed by the networking industry in response to the shortcomings of WEP.

One of the key technologies behind WPA is the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). TKIP addresses the encryption weaknesses of WEP. Another key component of WPA is built-in authentication that WEP does not offer. With this feature, WPA provides roughly comparable security to VPN tunneling with WEP, with the benefit of easier administration and use.