ITPEC IP April 2022 Question 41
It is reported that WEP suffers from the problem that ciphers are decoded in a short time. Which of the following is a stronger wireless LAN encryption method?
Explanation
WPA2 — the wireless LAN encryption standard that replaced WEP, whose keys can be recovered from captured traffic in a short time.
WEP uses the RC4 cipher with a short initialisation vector and a static shared key, so an attacker who collects enough packets can compute the key. WPA2 encrypts wireless LAN frames with AES (CCMP) and derives fresh keys for each session, which removes those weaknesses. It protects the radio link between the terminals and the access point.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) ESSID — the name that identifies a wireless LAN; it selects the network but encrypts nothing
- •(b) HTTPS — HTTP over TLS, protecting one web session end to end; it does not encrypt the wireless LAN itself or the other traffic on it
- •(c) S/MIME — encryption and digital signatures for e-mail messages, not for a wireless link
Key rule: Wireless LAN encryption evolved from WEP to WPA, WPA2 and WPA3; an ESSID only names the network, and HTTPS and S/MIME protect particular applications, not the radio link.
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