--Originally published at Computer and Information Security

Wireless networks

Since the last few years, wireless networks have become very important in the market. We can see wireless networks everywhere, such as in the coffee shops, some malls, on the streets, airports, hotels,  home, school, etc. The problem is that there are a lot of security problems with them. It is important to take into consideration that nowadays, wireless networks carry important information and it is crucial to have a secured wireless network.

Although it is easier to get connected to a wireless network rather than a wired one, it has become more vulnerable because of the facility to get connected to a wireless one. Each day, people are being connected to the internet and its easier to be in risk because of that. But leaving aside those risks, wireless networks have a lot of advantages. Before the explanation of them, i’ll recommend you to watch the next video regarding wireless security:

 

Wireless Security protocols

In order to protect wireless networks, WSP (wireless security protocols) were invented. These WSP are mainly targeted to protect local networks, such as the ones that are in home or offices. These WSP have their own strengths and weaknesses, but they offer wireless security in most of the cases, sending encrypted data through the airwaves.

The problem with the wireless networks is that the information is send to every device that is listening to the signals, obviously, it has a limited range. One of the benefits of the wired networks is that it has only one connection, between device A to device B. Protocols were created to protect these airwaves signals. We have three protocols: WEP, WPA, and WPA2.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

The WEP was the first protocol to secure the wireless networks. The main point of the protocol is to Continue reading "Wireless security" →