The Wireless Encryption Protocol

WEP is an encryption standard for wireless networks.

WEP is a protocol for encryption on wireless networks. It is often called the Wireless Encryption Protocol, because that is what it does and it fits the acronym. However, WEP is actually "Wired Equivalent Privacy."

Source

WEP received its name because it was the first security protocol officially accepted as part of Wireless local area networks (LANs). A non-wireless LAN may be physically secure because it is in a building with doors and locks and security guards and data travelling on it is inside a cable. Wireless signals can transmit data through walls and beyond any physical controls. The encryption design for wireless methods attempted to ensure the same level of privacy for data on a Wireless LAN as on a wired LAN, hence, "Wired Equivalent Privacy."

Function

WEP is implemented on the wireless Network Interface Card (NIC). Before transmitting the data in packets, the NIC encrypts the packet body with an RSA cypher.

Drawbacks

Weaknesses were discovered in WEP's procedures enabling signals to be intercepted. WEP was dropped as a recommended standard for Wireless LAN security and was replaced by "Wi-Fi Protected Access" (WPA).

References

• Techtarget: Wired Equivalent Privacy
• Wi-Fi Planet: 802.11 WEP: Concepts and Vulnerability