Difference Between WEP & WPA Address
- Authentication methods for WEP are the Open System authentication and Shared Key Authentication. Open System authentication means it is not necessary for a WLAN (wireless local area network) client to provide its credentials to a central transmitter or receiver during authentication. A Shared Key authentication uses a four-way handshake where the sender and receiver provide a challenge-response communication prior to allowing access.
- Authentication methods for WPA are the WPA Enterprise Mode and the WPA PSK (Pre-Shared Key) Mode. The WPA Enterprise mode requires a server to provide authentication, and uses a centralized management of user names and passwords called RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) protocols for authentication and key distribution. WPA PSK Mode works without an authentication server and uses shared secret for authentication. Shared secret is a text string used as a password between two machines with RADIUS protocol.
- Because of the high administrative costs of maintaining a shared WEP key, many wireless networks have disabled WEP. With the shared key authentication, the passwords can soon become public knowledge, voiding any security. For example, if an employee responsible for maintaining the shared WEP key leaves a company, that key can go with him and is no longer private to the company. Any 802.11 Network Interface Card can use the shared key once it is known.
- Though WPA has improved many areas of security breaches found in the WEP system, its PSK Mode is vulnerable to the same security infractions as any other shared password system. PSK Mode also has management difficulties in removing a user once they have access to the password. The drawback of the Enterprise Mode of WPA is that it requires a RADIUS server, which is not something a home user would have.
