In a minimum 2-page paper, review encryption methods WPA, WPA2 and WPA3. Compare and contrast their strengths and weaknesses. WPA vs WPA2 vs WPA3- WiFi Security Differences WPA vs WPA2 vs WPA3- WiFi Security Differences Then, explain which version you would use and why. Would you include any authentications mechanisms, such as 802.1x or similar?
WPA vs WPA2 vs WPA3- WiFi Security Differences
These encryption methods are used to protect WLANs from unauthorized access (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). The Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) was first implemented in 2002 by Wi-Fi Alliance to eliminate network security issues experienced in WEP. Therefore, WPA came with MIC calculation for improved security (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), introduced in 2004, is an improvement of WPA. WPA2 protects information using CCMP protocol and for encryption. It is available in two versions; WPA2 – enterprise and WPA2 – personal. Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) was introduced in 2018, and it is an improvement of WAP2 (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). It protects public networks efficiently because it eliminates brute force attacks, unlike in WPA2. Do you need urgent assignment help ? Reach out to us. We endeavor to assist you the best way possible.
Compare And Contrast Their Strengths and Weaknesses.
WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 encryption methods were developed in different years where a predecessor encryption method was succeeded by an improved encryption method (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). Consequently, a successor encryption method offers better security features. WAP performs better than WEP, an earlier version of encryption, because it is compatible with most vendor devices. Also, WAP encrypts data better than WEP because of the MIC calculation feature. The 802.11 standards are well implemented in the WAP2 compared to WEP and WAP. WAP2 also uses CCMP to protect data from unauthorized persons.
CCMP encrypts and decrypts to ensure that man cannot access data in the middle when being transmitted. Only the receiver can have it decrypted at the destination. This is done using a pre-shared key and AES encryption. WAP3 has better encryption as compared to WAP2 – enterprise and WAP – personal. It protects data using Simultaneous Authentication of Equals as compared to WAP2’s Advanced Encryption Standard (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). This improvement protects against the KRACK attack that was present in WAP2. Consequently, it is difficult to successfully perform a KRACK attack or brute force attack on a public network protected by WAP3. This is because an attacker cannot access old traffic from a network and decode it (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). Devices that are not WAP3 enabled cannot access a WAP3 protected network connection. This is efficient in ensuring that the network is secure.
WAP3 Preference
Using the WAP3 encryption method would be prudent because it offers the strongest protection against network attacks (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). According to Bartoli (2020), it is evident that using an encryption method lower than WAP3 would expose the network to attackers. The experiments illustrated remote connections to a server using WAP, WAP2, and WAP3 and the vulnerabilities that would be experienced in the three encryption methods. In WAP and WAP2 encryptions, it was possible for unauthorized persons to access data. However, in WAP3, no data could be obtained illegally. The only notable challenge in WAP3 was that connection authorization failed for some devices that were not WAP3 compatible (Bartoli, 2020). The Simultaneous Authentication of Equals is efficient in implementing WAP3 encryption. This would be used together with other standards based on the security needs of a network. For example, 802.1x could be used with 196-bit security to fully protect a network. 802.11s standard could also be employed as it checks on mesh network security. The Simultaneous Authentication of Equals ensures that all legal peer devices on a network are identified to avoid attackers from gaining access (Srikanth & Reddy, 2019). Therefore, the 802.11s would work well with SAE.
References
Bartoli, A. (2020). Understanding Server Authentication in WPA3 Enterprise. Applied Sciences, 10(7879), 2-12. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/21/7879/pdf