User's Manual

USER GUIDE
WI-FI AND WPA REQUIREMENTS
WPA is a subset of the 802.11i standard and boosts the original static WEP security by
mandating 802.1x remote authentication procedures and the advent of Temporal Key Integrity
Protocol (TKIP) which is comprised of the following improvements:
Longer IV: The initialization vector for WEP is 24 bits long and is subject to reuse after a short
period. The new IV is 48 bits long, making it less susceptible to reuse.
Per Packet Keying: Each packet is assigned a new key based on a stepping algorithm and
encrypted. This prevents passive attacks.
MIC: The message integrity check (MIC) provides two forms of protection for each packet by
affixing a sequence number SEQ (OOS will be dropped) and an additional integrity check value
(MIC) to prevent bit flipping attacks.
Software Upgradeable: The WPA requirements are such that wireless NICs with WEP should
be field upgradeable to realize these benefits.
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