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Appendix C: Glossary
WPA ( Wi-Fi Protected Access): WPA is a security technology for wireless networks that
improves on the authentication and encryption features of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). In
fact, WPA was developed by the networking industry in response to the shortcomings of WEP.
One of the key technologies behind WPA is the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). TKIP
addresses the encryption weaknesses of WEP. Another key component of WPA is built-in
authentication that WEP does not offer. With this feature, WPA provides roughly comparable
security to VPN tunneling with WEP, with the benefit of easier administration and use. This is
similar to 802.1x support and requires a RADIUS server in order to implement. The Wi-Fi Alliance
will call this, WPA-Enterprise. One variation of WPA is called WPA Pre Shared Key or WPA-PSK for
short, this provides an authentication alternative to an expensive RADIUS server. WPA-PSK is a
simplified but still powerful form of WPA most suitable for home Wi-Fi networking. To use
WPA-PSK, a person sets a static key or "passphrase" as with WEP. But, using TKIP, WPA-PSK
automatically changes the keys at a preset time interval, making it much more difficult for
hackers to find and exploit them. The Wi-Fi Alliance will call this WPA-Personal.
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