Wired Equivalent Privacy

E3014

Wi‑Fi security protocol link‑layer security protocol

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is an early and now largely obsolete Wi‑Fi security protocol known for its weak encryption and significant vulnerabilities.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
WEP	5

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Wi‑Fi security protocol ⓘ link‑layer security protocol ⓘ
abbreviation	Wired Equivalent Privacy self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: WEP
attackToolExample	Aircrack‑ng ⓘ WEPCrack ⓘ
authenticationMethod	open system authentication ⓘ shared‑key authentication ⓘ
canBeBrokenWith	passive traffic capture ⓘ publicly available cracking tools ⓘ statistical analysis of packets ⓘ
compatibility	supported by many legacy Wi‑Fi devices ⓘ
currentBestPractice	replace with WPA2 or WPA3 ⓘ
definedInStandard	IEEE 802.11 ⓘ
designGoal	provide confidentiality comparable to wired networks ⓘ
doesNotProvideSecurityService	replay protection ⓘ strong integrity protection ⓘ
encryptionScope	protects data between client and access point ⓘ
historicalRole	first widely deployed Wi‑Fi security mechanism ⓘ
introducedInStandard	IEEE 802.11 ⓘ surface form: IEEE 802.11-1997 IEEE 802.11 ⓘ surface form: IEEE 802.11b
keyDistribution	manual ⓘ
keyManagementType	pre‑shared key ⓘ
keyReuse	common across multiple clients ⓘ
operatesAtLayer	data link layer ⓘ
perception	initially believed to provide strong security ⓘ
providesSecurityService	access control ⓘ confidentiality ⓘ
recommendation	should not be used for sensitive data ⓘ
regulatoryStatus	discouraged by Wi‑Fi Alliance ⓘ
status	deprecated ⓘ obsolete ⓘ
supersededBy	Wi‑Fi Protected Access ⓘ surface form: IEEE 802.11i Wi‑Fi Protected Access ⓘ surface form: WPA Wi‑Fi Protected Access ⓘ surface form: WPA2 Wi‑Fi Protected Access ⓘ
usesEncryptionAlgorithm	RC4 stream cipher ⓘ
usesInitializationVectorLength	24‑bit IV ⓘ
usesIntegrityCheck	CRC‑32 ⓘ
usesKeyLength	104‑bit key ⓘ 40‑bit key ⓘ
usesKeyType	static symmetric key ⓘ
vulnerability	IV reuse ⓘ bit‑flipping attacks ⓘ key recovery attacks ⓘ no protection against replay attacks ⓘ short initialization vector ⓘ weak integrity check using CRC‑32 ⓘ weak key scheduling in RC4 ⓘ

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Wired Equivalent Privacy → abbreviation → Wired Equivalent Privacy self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: WEP

Aircrack‑ng → canCrackEncryption → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

subject surface form: Aircrack-ng

this entity surface form: WEP

Wi‑Fi Protected Access → follows → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

Wi‑Fi Protected Access → providesStrongerSecurityThan → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

Wi‑Fi Protected Access → replaces → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

this entity surface form: WEP

IEEE 802.11 → securityMechanism → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

RC4 stream cipher → usedIn → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

subject surface form: RC4

this entity surface form: WEP

Wi‑Fi → usesSecurityProtocol → Wired Equivalent Privacy ⓘ

this entity surface form: WEP