![wep vs wpa vs wpa-psk wep vs wpa vs wpa-psk](https://www.passcape.com/images/psk.png)
Here, we'll briefly run through how they work. Ciphers and protocolsĪbove, we looked at exactly which certification programs are the most up-to-date, as well as what encryption protocols and ciphers they use to secure wireless networks. New features to simplify Wi-Fi security, enable more robust authentication, deliver increased cryptographic strength for highly sensitive data markets, and maintain resiliency of mission-critical networks. WPA3 also has Personal and Enterprise options, and is described by the Wi-Fi Alliance as having: WPA3 was only recently developed in the last three years and isn't yet in widespread use. See our guide to WPA2 for more information about it. There is both a personal version (which supports CCMP/AES and TKIP/RC4) and an enterprise version (which supports EAP – the Extensible Authentication Protocol – as well as CCMP). TKIP is replaced with CCMP – which is based on AES processing – providing a better standard of encryption.
![wep vs wpa vs wpa-psk wep vs wpa vs wpa-psk](https://www.lifewire.com/thmb/pz06BSFmkPKcnhkHGrM5LVcb9ms=/2687x1436/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/WPA-2-vs-WPA-1065c13b32d34a95ac1bb133d35c6767.jpg)
WPA2 is another step up in terms of security and makes use of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) cipher for encryption, which is the same cipher the US military uses for a lot of its encryption. This is also not the most secure program to use because using PSK as the cornerstone of the certification process leaves you with similar vulnerabilities to WEP. Wireless networks protected by WPA have a pre-shared key (PSK) and use the TKIP protocol – which in turn uses the RC4 cipher – for encryption purposes, making WPA-PSK. However, it is still vulnerable to intrusion and there are more secure protocols available. WPA is a more modern and more secure security certification for wireless networks. Everyone on the network shares the same key – a form of static encryption – which means everyone is put in harm's way if one client is exploited. However, WEP isn't very secure at all, which is why it's not commonly used, and is wholly obsolete when compared to later protocols. WEP was the original wireless network security algorithm, and as you can probably tell by the name, was designed to supply a given network with the security of a wired one. For wireless networks, a number of security certification programs have been developed, including WPA and WPA2. Security certification programsĪll networks need security programs, certifications, and protocols to keep the devices and users on the network safe. An example of a PSK would be a Wi-Fi password, which can be up to 63 characters and usually initiates the encryption process. In cryptography this is called a 'shared secret' – it's a piece of data known only by entities involved in the secure communication it is being used for. An example of this is AES (which, confusingly, stands for Advanced Encryption Standard).Īuthentication methods or mechanisms are used to verify wireless clients, such as a Pre-Shared Key (PSK), which is essentially just a string of characters. How encryption protocols encrypt data is determined by ciphers, which are essentially just algorithms that shape the process. An example would be TKIP, the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol. These are occasionally referred to as encryption standards themselves.Ĭertification programs – in this case for Wi-Fi networks – use encryption protocols to secure data transmitted over a given Wi-Fi connection. WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 are the three wireless network certification programs we'll be discussing in this article. The first things we examine below are certification programs. In articles on network security, the terms 'protocol', 'standard' and 'certification' and 'program' are often used interchangeably What one source, website, or individual refers to as a 'protocol', for instance, might be referred to as a 'standard' elsewhere. In articles about network security, the terms 'protocol', 'standard' and 'certification' and 'program' are often used interchangeably when talking about encryption.