WEP.

WEP, short for Wired Equivalent Privacy, is a protocol for wireless LANs or local area networks. This WEP is defined in the 802.11 Standard. WEP is designed so security levels are maintained at the same level as the wired LAN. WEP's aim is to provide security by encrypting data over radio waves. WEP protects data as it's transmitted from one end point to another. WEP is used at the two lowest layers, the data link and physical layer. WEP is designed to make up for the inherent security in wireless transmission as compared to wired transmission. The goal of WEP is to provide an equivalent level of privacy as is ordinarily present with an unsecured wired LAN. WEP is not an industrial security algorithm.

The WEP Algorithm.

WEP algorithm is part of the 802.11 Standard that describes communication in WLANs. The WEP algorithm protects wireless communication from eavesdropping. WEP prevents unauthorized access to a wireless network. WEP relies on a secret key shared between a laptop with wireless Ethernet card (or mobile station) and an access point (the base station). The WEP secret key encrypts packages before they are transmitted. WEP uses an integrity check to prevent packets being modified in transit. Most installations use a single WEP key between the mobile stations and access points. Multi WEP key techniques in network management enhance the security.

WEP Encryption.

WEP encryption is the translation of data into a secret code. The WEP encryption key is used to provide wireless clients with confidentiality and authentication in an IEEE 802.11 b environment. WEP encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read a WEP encryption on file you need a secret key or password to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text, the cipher text refers to encrypted text. There are two main types of WEP encryption, asymmetric WEP encryption or public key WEP encryption and symmetric WEP encryption. To preserve confidentiality, WEP encryption uses RC4 encryption for the 802.11 frame with shared keys. WEP encryption uses the RC4 encryption method and the conversion of plain text, cipher text and the initialization vector (IV) that is used to turn the plain text into cipher text. This can in turn be decoded into the RC4 keystream. WEP encryption depends on a shared key, its distribution and the WEP encryption algorithm. The WEP encryption standard employs 40-bit encryption as well as a 128-bit WEP encryption option. Some WEP wireless vendors offer both WEP encryption options. By using the128-bit keys, WEP encryption ensures that your data is as secure as unencrypted wired Ethernet.

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