Wireless security

Basic concepts

Name	Explanation
MAC address	A unique identifier for the device's wireless adapter.
SSID	The network name, also known as the Service Set Identifier of the WiFi network.
Supported data rates	A list of the data rates the device can communicate.
Supported channels	A list of the channels (frequencies) on which the device can communicate.
Supported security protocols	A list of the security protocols that the device is capable of using, such as WPA2/WPA3.

Wired Equivalent Privacy: WEP

Wi-Fi Protected Access: WPA

WEP Challenge-Response Handshake

Step	Who	Description
1	Client	Sends an association request packet to the WAP, requesting access.
2	WAP	Responds with an association response packet to the client, which includes a challenge string.
3	Client	Calculates a response to the challenge string and a shared secret key and sends it back to the WAP.
4	WAP	Calculates the expected response to the challenge with the same shared secret key and sends an authentication response packet to the client.

Nevertheless, some packets can get lost, so the so-called CRC checksum has been integrated. Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) is an error-detection mechanism used in the WEP protocol to protect against data corruption in wireless communications.

Encryption Protocols

We can use various encryption algorithms to protect the confidentiality of data transmitted over wireless networks. The most common encryption algorithms in WiFi networks are Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), and WiFi Protected Access 3 (WPA3).

Wired Equivalent Privacy: WEP

Very week with 63-bit and 128-bit encryption keys.

WEP uses the RC4 cipher encryption algorithm, which makes it vulnerable to attacks.

Passwords can be crack in minutes.

Superseded by WPA in 2003

Wi-Fi Protected Access: WPA

Developed by Wi-Fi Alliance

Massive security improvement over WEP with 256-bit encryption keys.

Superseded by WPA2 in 2006.

Last update: 2023-07-07
Created: March 10, 2023 20:56:07