Teletronics International TT 900, User Manual

37

 
WPA Configuration 

 
 
Short for Wi-Fi Protected Access, WPA is a Wi-Fi standard that was designed to improve upon the security features of 
WEP. WPA has the following improvements over WEP: 
 

•

  Improved data encryption through temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP). TKIP scrambles the keys using a 

hashing algorithm.  By adding an integrity-checking feature, TKIP ensures that keys have not been tampered 
with. 

•

  User authentication through the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). WEP regulates access to a wireless 

network based on a computer’s hardware-specific MAC address, which is relatively simple to be sniffed out 
and stolen. EAP is built on a more secure public-key encryption system to ensure that only authorized network 
users can access the network. 

WPA Enable 

 
This option enables the WPA Authenticator. Note that any client that does not support the WPA standard will not be 
able to handshake / authenticate with a WPA enabled device. 
 
 

WPA Mode 

•

 WPA 

o

  Designed to secure present and future versions of IEEE 802.11 devices, WPA is a subset of the IEEE 

802.11i specification. WPA addresses all known vulnerabilities in WEP. WPA also provides user 
authentication, since WEP lacks any means of authentication. WPA replaces WEP with a strong new 
encryption technology called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) with Message Integrity Check 
(MIC). It also provides a scheme of mutual authentication using IEEE 802.1X/Extensible 
Authentication Protocol (EAP) authentication or pre-shared key (PSK) technology. WPA was designed 
and has been scrutinized by well-known cryptographers. It can be implemented immediately and 
inexpensively as a software or firmware upgrade to most existing Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ access points 
and client devices with minimal degradation in network performance. WPA offers standards-based, Wi-
Fi CERTIFIED security. It assures users that the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices they buy will be cross-
vendor compatible. When properly installed, WPA provides a high level of assurance to enterprises, 
small businesses and home users that data will remain protected and that only authorized users may 
access their networks. For enterprises that have already deployed IEEE 802.1X authentication, WPA 
offers the advantage of leveraging existing authentication databases and infrastructure. 

•

 WPA2 

o

  WPA2 is the second generation of WPA security; providing enterprise and consumer Wi-Fi® users with 

a high level of assurance that only authorized users can access their wireless networks. Launched in 
September 2004 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, WPA2 is the certified interoperable version of the full IEEE 
802.11i specification which was ratified in June 2004. Like WPA, WPA2 supports IEEE 802.1X/EAP 
authentication or PSK technology. It also includes a new advanced encryption mechanism using the 
Counter-Mode/CBC-MAC Protocol (CCMP) called the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES 
satisfies U.S. government security requirements. It has been adopted as an official government 
standard by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST). Organizations that require the AES encryption available in WPA2 should be aware 
that upgrading to it may require new hardware. Section II of this document offers a roadmap for 
organizations planning to upgrade to WPA2. Considerations for its deployment are outlined in Section 
III.