Professional Access Point
Administrator Guide
Security - 103
SEE ALSO
For information on how to configure this mode, see “None” on page 108 under “Configuring Security
Settings”.
When to Use Static WEP
Static Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a data encryption protocol for 802.11 wireless networks. All
wireless stations and access points on the network are configured with a static 64-bit (40-bit secret key +
24-bit initialization vector (IV)) or 128-bit (104-bit secret key + 24-bit IV) Shared Key for data encryption.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Static WEP was designed to provide security equivalent of sending unencrypted data through an Ethernet
connection, however it has major flaws and it does not provide even this intended level of security.
Therefore, Static WEP is not recommended as a secure mode. The only time to use Static WEP is when
interoperability issues make it the only option available to you and you are not concerned with the potential
of exposing the data on your network.
SEE ALSO
For information on how to configure Static WEP security mode, see “Static WEP” on page 108 under
“Configuring Security Settings”.
When to Use IEEE 802.1x
IEEE 802.1x is the standard for passing the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) over an 802.11
wireless network using a protocol called EAP Encapsulation Over LANs (EAPOL). This is a newer, more
secure standard than Static WEP.
Key Management Encryption Algorithm User Authentication
Static WEP uses a fixed key that is
provided by the administrator. WEP
keys are indexed in different slots
(up to four on the Professional
Access Point).
The client devices must have the
same key indexed in the same slot
to access data on the access point.
An RC4 stream cipher is used to
encrypt the frame body and cyclic
redundancy checking (CRC) of each
802.11 frame.
If you set the Authentication Algorithm
to Shared Key, this protocol provides
a rudimentary form of user authenti-
cation.
However, if the Authentication Algo-
rithm is set to Open System, no
authentication is performed.
If the algorithm is set to Both, only
WEP clients are authenticated.
