Part of the communication infrastructure used by the university is an 802.11g wi

Question

Part of the communication infrastructure used by the university is an 802.11g wireless network implemented throughout the university dorm rooms and library. Upon inspection by your consulting team, it is discovered that the wireless network is not secure and that data is being exchanged over the air without encryption. Research the latest technology for use with wireless encryption. Provide a memorandum to the dean of information technology addressing the needed for encryption within the wireless infrastructure and the types of wireless encryption that may be deployed to secure the wireless network and devices.

Explanation / Answer

Many routers provide WPA2-PSK (TKIP), WPA2-PSK (AES), and WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES) as options. Choose the wrong one, though, and you’ll have a slower, less-secure network.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) are the primary security algorithms you’ll see when setting up a wireless network. WEP is the oldest and has proven to be vulnerable as more and more security flaws have been discovered. WPA improved security, but is now also considered vulnerable to intrusion. WPA2, while not perfect, is currently the most secure choice. Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) are the two different types of encryption you’ll see used on networks secured with WPA2. Let’s take a look at how they differ and which is best for you.

AES vs. TKIP

TKIP and AES are two different types of encryption that can be used by a Wi-Fi network. TKIP is actually an older encryption protocol introduced with WPA to replace the very-insecure WEP encryption at the time. TKIP is actually quite similar to WEP encryption. TKIP is no longer considered secure, and is now deprecated. In other words, you shouldn’t be using it.

AES is a more secure encryption protocol introduced with WPA2. AES isn’t some creaky standard developed specifically for Wi-Fi networks, either. It’s a serious worldwide encryption standard that’s even been adopted by the US government.The short version is that TKIP is an older encryption standard used by the WPA standard. AES is a newer Wi-Fi encryption solution used by the new-and-secure WPA2 standard. In theory, that’s the end of it.

While WPA2 is supposed to use AES for optimal security, it can also use TKIP where backward compatibility with legacy devices is needed. In such a state, devices that support WPA2 will connect with WPA2 and devices that support WPA will connect with WPA. So “WPA2” doesn’t always mean WPA2-AES. However, on devices without a visible “TKIP” or “AES” option, WPA2 is generally synonymous with WPA2-AES.

Aditionally,802.11n supports up to 300mbps if you’re using WPA2 with AES. Theoretically, 802.11ac offers maximum speeds of 3.46 Gbps under optimum (read: perfect) conditions.

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