Types of WEP Authentication

We live in the age of information. The freedom and accessibility of data offered by wireless networks is offset by the need to protect that data. Any information transmitted or received while connected to a wireless network may be accessible to anyone eavesdropping on the connection. To this end, wireless networks need to use various encryption techniques to help secure the integrity and privacy of the data that traverses them.

WEP

WEP stands for wired equivalency protocol. It was originally intended to provide wireless networks the same level of privacy and security as offered by wired networks. WEP is made up of two primary parts. The first part is a user-generated key made up of alphanumeric characters, 0 through 9 and A through Z, which is shared among every device to be connected to the network. The second part is a randomly generated initialization vector, known as the IV, which is concatenated with the user generated key.

WEP2

WEP2 was an enhancement to the original WEP protocol. It attempted to elevate some of the deficiencies in standard WEP protection. It was presented in a few early IEEE 802.11i drafts and saw selected implementation on some non-WPA/WPA2 compatible hardware. One of WEP2's enhancements was in extending the key values and the IV to 128 bits. This was thought to help eliminate brute force attacks and deficiencies in the IV. The extended length did little to overcome the overall deficiencies in the WEP algorithm and WEP2 was eventually dropped.

WEPplus

WEPplus, or WEP+, is an WEP enhancement released by Agere Systems. It is a proprietary enhancement and attempts to bolster WEP security by eliminating weak keys, keys that can easily be intercepted and broken. WEP+ is only available on specific Agere Systems Wi-Fi equipment. WEP+-enabled Wi-Fi equipment is fully compatible with other non-WEP+ equipment and can communicate with them, but they will not receive the added security benefits when doing so. WEP+ must be in action on both sides of the connection for full security, limiting its usefulness.

Dynamic WEP

Dynamic WEP is a vendor-specific feature available on some wireless equipment, such as those released by CISCO Systems. It attempts to address the security concerns in standard WEP by creating, among other features, the ability have dynamically created WEP keys for each user or even for each session.

Warning

The WEP protocol is considered defunct because it has now become exceedingly easy for most WEP encryptions to be broken in as little as a few minutes. If any level of security is required on a network, migrate to WPA or WPA2, depending on what the equipment can support.

References

• CISCO: Cisco Aironet Security Solution Provides Dynamic WEP to Address Researchers' Concerns
• bnet: Agere Systems is First to Solve Wireless LAN Wired Equivalent Privacy Security Issue; New Software Prevents Creation of Weak WEP Keys
• Stark Realities: It Came out of the Sky -- WEP2, Credibility Zero
• Wi-Fi Planet: 802.11 WEP: Concepts and Vulnerability