What Is a WPA Group Rekey Interval?

Encypt your Wi-Fi network to ensure secure communcations.

Unsecured wireless Internet connections are vulnerable to eavesdropping. The Wi-Fi Protected Access protocol uses keys to ensure that communications over your home or office wireless network remain secure.

WPA Keys

WPA uses pre-shared keys that authenticate a device to a protected network. These keys can take the form of a phrase or a string of alphanumeric characters. WPA checks the key for authenticity, then grants or denies the device access to the Wi-Fi network.

Rekey Intervals

WPA automatically changes secret keys after a certain period of time. The group rekey interval is the period of time in between automatic changes of the group key, which all devices on the network share. WPA changes the group key so quickly that you won't even notice the process.

Benefits of Rekeying

The WPA protocol uses rekeying to provide your network with increased security. Constantly rekeying the group key protects your network against intrusion, as the would-be intruder must cope with an ever-changing secret key. Older security standards like WEP do not possess this automatic rekey function, and are therefore less secure.

References

• Microsoft: WPA Wireless Security for Home Networks; Barb Bowman; 2003
• Indiana University: Wireless Security
• AskAGeek.com: Securing A Linksys Wireless Networking Using WPA Encryption; Anne Wheeler; 2008

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• UC Berkeley: Wireless Security; David Wagner