January 09, 2007
Wi-Fi Security Gets a Little Easier
The Wi-Fi Alliance is finally offering an easier way to secure networks, taking over a task so far handled via a mish-mash of proprietary and sometimes confusing approaches.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — For all the frustrated wireless
LAN users out there, the Wi-Fi Alliance is finally making securing networks a little
bit easier. A handful of chips will roll out this quarter supporting Wi-Fi Protected Setup, a method that relies on a personal identification number (PIN) or a button to set up network security.
Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show, the new approach is sorely needed to sort out the mish-mash of proprietary approaches exisiting today. Lack of a unified approach is a headache for consumers, many of whom feel like they need a rocket scientist to help navigate the maze of WEP, WPA, WPA2, SSIDs and sundry techie tasks that only an engineer could love. The alliance said this new approach will halve the steps needed to set up a secure network.
That should come in handy for the two out of five consumers who don't secure their networks, describing the task as moderately to very difficult, according to a recent study by WFA/Kelton Research. A latter study by the same outfit also found that 83 percent of people think using someone else's Wi-Fi network is the same as stealing, yet more than half of the respondents admitted to doing so.
None of them probably live in Singapore, however, where piggybacking on someone's Wi-Fi signal is illegal under the Computer Misuse Act and punishable by up to three years in the slammer. A 17-year-old teen was arrested in November for doing so — if only the Wi-Fi Alliance had acted a little quicker.
However, most of the top Wi-Fi chipmakers have been quick to pick up on the new feature. So far, Atheros, Broadcom, Conexant, Marvell and Ralink Technology have certified products. Intel's PROSet/Wireless software v11.1 is also compliant, as well as two devices from Buffalo Technology. With the exception of Marvell's TopDog draft 802.11n access point chip, all the devices are some variation of 802.11a/b/g.
The Wi-Fi Protected Setup will be an optional certification program. For those that complete it, the alliance has designed a Wi-Fi Protected Setup logo that will go alongside the Wi-Fi Certified logo. The alliance is making the specification available at www.wi-fi.org.
The new process seems pretty straight-forward. When a consumer turns on a WPS device, the network will detect it and ask the user to enter an 8-digit PIN or push a button. Once entered, the network name and encryption information will be transferred to the PC, camera or phone. Later this year, the alliance will add support for near field communication and USB flash drives.
The approach mirrors others that have been in use or suggested before, such as Buffalo's AOSS and a Microsoft process which stores network settings on removable media.
