Wi-Fi Network Security (WEP and WPA)

Wireless networking has inspired many people as it is the best solution for small and medium businesses. It makes employees more productive freeing their hands both in the office and on the road. But a few have considered the security issues that concern wireless networks. Because of the fact that Wi-Fi transfers data through airwaves, it can be intercepted by unintended recipients. It's critical that you implement wireless security!

Today you can benefit out of two prevailing security protocols: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). It is natural to ask which one will protect your business better? First thing you should know is that they are not interchangeable!

How vulnerable is WEP? As any original standard WEP was found vulnerable in several issues. Security experts have discovered that it was easy for a skilled hacker to broke into the network and exploit it.

Some of the WEP's weak spots are:

WEP doesn't offer authentication. This means it is not possible to verify the device or the person that joins the network
The encryption isn't as strong as it was expected
The key can be changed only manually. (Key – a shared string of characters that is used by machine to encrypt/decrypt data). This means that if a hacker figures out your key then he can do everything s/he wishes! This includes even software tools created by hackers to enable just all who pay to break through your WEP protection

However, WEP is still better than no protection at all! You just have to be prepared to understand that WEP has been known to be flawed.

"Avoid use on company networks, because vulnerabilities and cracking tools have been published. If WEP must be used, it should be configured for 128-bit encryption, and passwords must have a high degree of entropy." ( Report from Gartner Inc., the Stamford, Conn. research group, November 2006). Well, nothing else to say – WEP leaves your business network vulnerable! BUT! If your passwords would contain as many special characters as possible, and a combination of upper- and lower-case letters (14 characters or more) with no repeats – that might work! In other words you should make a hacker's life unbearable!

Strongest security today – WPA2
As it is already usual, a standard comes to settle the loopholes of the original one. That's the story of WPA! WPA was released in 2003 to replace WEP. It was the best option for Wi-Fi networks until 2004, when WPA2 came about.

WPA2 is based on the IEEE 802.11i standard. Many consider it the strongest security standard for Wi-Fi networks, though skeptics would doubt it.

Some of advantages are:

WPA2 uses a more advanced encryption, which makes it stronger than its previous generation. Another important moment is that the encryption key is sent for every packet that is broadcast separately. What does it mean? It means that even if a intruder deciphers the key in one packet s/he wouldn't be able to use it with the next packet. The network generates a new key that invalidates the old one
WPA2 includes authentication for a safe verification
Dynamic key change

Less known things, you should definitely know

Encryption is the first line of defense for your Wi-Fi network! It encodes data that travel between your PC and your wireless router. The less known thing is that most routers come with encryption turned off. Many users won't even know about it and wouldn't bother to turn it on. Well, this is the best way to get completely exposed
You can't mix WEP and WPA on your network. This means you'll have to use the same standard for all devices. WPA and WPA2 can be mixed as the keys they use have the ability to change dynamically
There exits hybrid routers (WPA + WPA2 mode). This allows you to use the stronger WPA2 encryption with adapters compatible with WPA adapters
Make sure you've changed the default network name and password on your router! This is one more obstacle on the hackers' way to brake your network
The built-in firewall you have in your router is meant to prevent hackers on the Internet from getting access to your PC. Still it doesn't stop people in range of your Wi-Fi signal from getting onto your network. One of the protective measures is to use available tools to see all your Wi-Fi traffic
Public hotspots are pretty dangerous as they usually don't use encryption, which can enable anyone see your Internet traffic. And turn your Wi-Fi radio off when you leave a hotspot – hackers can use it to create peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections to access it directly
Public wireless link can be also protected by using a virtual private network (VPN). VPNs assure safe channels for data transfer. VPN service is usually provided by companies for their mobile and offsite employees
Also think twice upon sending bank passwords, credit card numbers, confidential e-mail, or other important data, unless you're sure it's secure site (check for the lock icon in the bottom-right corner of your browser, and for URL that begin with https).