Instruction manual

Wireless Programming
152 XBLUE Networks
8
Security
Open and Shared both use Wired Equivalent Priivacy (WEP) encryption which allows the administrator to select
between 4 different newtork keys. 802.1x and WPA require the administrator to set valid RADIUS parameters.
WPA-PSK requires the adminitrator to create a valid WPA pre-shared Key. Use the following protocols to establish
wireless security.
• Open – no encryption – not recommended without WEP enabled.
• Shared – each device on the wireless network must use the same WEP “Shared” authentication key.
This should be considered rudimentary security.
• 802.1x – is a Port based authentication based on Extensible Authentication Protocol, which generally
requires a client application, which authenticates to a specified server (RADIUS) before being allowed
to connect to the wireless access point.
• WEP – Wired Equivalent Privacy – One of the original wireless encryption protocols, which was
thought to be secure. Today, with a minor investment, it can be cracked pretty quickly. This should be
considered basic security.
• WPA – Wi-Fi Protected Access – an “intermediate measure” security protocol created by the Wi-Fi
Alliance, which uses Tempoal is found to be more secure than WEP.
• TKIP – Temporal Key Integrity Protocol – Was added to WPA and is backwards compatible with
older WEP devices, but can be infiltrated with re-injection and spoofing.
• PSK – Pre-Shared Key (RFC 4785) – can be convenient when managing a closed network for easier
authentication.
• WPA2 – The second version of WPA, which is more secure, but does not always work with older
wireless installations.
• AES – Advanced Encryption Standard – Block Cipher encryption which was adopted by the US
Government, and now used world wide for security.
• RADIUS – (RFC 2865) Remote Authentication Dial in User Service – is a client/server protocol
using centralized authentication, which requires a network server for all endpoints that connect to the
network. This is done in the application layer, using UDP packets.
• RADIUS Port – The “Well Known Ports” for sending UDP packets are 1812 and 1645 depending on the
network installation and the server.