Boffins beef-up WiFi security

Security sits high on the WiFi development agenda this year as global adoption of the technology reaches a high. The Wi-Fi Alliance will certify products for the new 802.11i and 802.11e standards by September, said Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the organization. The 802.11i standard is the complete version of the preliminary security standard WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) introduced last year. With an eye on a wireless digital future, the 802.11e standard is brand new technology designed to make it feasible to transmit voice and video over such networks. This standard aims to ensure a steady connection, particularly when using video.

Security has been one of the biggest obstacles to the growth of wireless networking. Last year, WPA replaced the flawed WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) protocol to shore-up wireless security before the full 802.11i standard could be ratified. WPA uses a dynamic encryption key as opposed to the static key used by WEP. It also improves the user authentication process.

The 802.11i standard adds AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) technology, a stronger level of security than used in WPA. Enterprises and governments, which need the highest level of security available, may have to replace some of their networking equipment in order to support the AES standard.

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