A wireless network is like hundreds of network cables floating in search of a rogue computer. A good attacker can get into most networks by taking advantage of a wireless connection and its Wired Equivalent Privacy security. . .
A wireless network is like hundreds of network cables floating in search of a rogue computer. A good attacker can get into most networks by taking advantage of a wireless connection and its Wired Equivalent Privacy security.

WEP represents the encryption of communications data sent over radio waves, specifically using an 802.11b system. But WEP, offered with varying amounts of encryption, is vulnerable because a smart attacker can obtain data pertinent to circumventing the coding by capturing sufficient frames of data.

WEP begins doing its job when a wireless computer sends a request to an access point for a secure session. The access point generates an encrypted response, or shell, that is sent back to the computer. The computer then creates a special code, or shared key, for the computer and the access point. The access point decrypts the shell and allows the computer entry to a network if the shared key matches.

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