What Are The Difference Between WPA And WEP?

Whether private homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, gyms, schools…  You can find wireless networks in all of them. Undoubtedly those who are in that place will enjoy the comfort of an Internet connection, but have you ever wondered what type of security or WEP or WPA encryption uses the Wi-Fi devices to which you connected!

The security algorithms Wi-Fi has been developed to be safer and more effective, encrypting information networks and encrypting private data using WEP or WPA encryption. Although both wireless security protocols serve the same purpose, they do not offer the same level of security and therefore it is vital to check which type is using your Wi-Fi.

What Are WEP And WPA?

WEP was the first security standard for Wi-Fi networks and the acronym refers to Wired Equivalent Privacy. As its literal translation indicates, the objective of its development was to guarantee the same level of security as wired networks. But despite all the improvements and updates that have been made since 1999, its protection is considered too weak and can be cracked in a few minutes. To solve this came WAP, wifi Protected Access, correcting its limitations as a temporary security improvement. With it, the TKIP was entered, which autonomously varies the Wi-Fi password every certain period, and the pre-shared key system, whereby all users access from the same Wi-Fi password set by one of them. 

But the reality is that its main components still depended on devices with WEP and WAP turning out to be too vulnerable to intrusion. After several tests and corrections, the successor to WPA, the WPA2 standard, emerged. It is compatible with the previous one, allowing devices that support either of these two systems to use it. Since 2004 it reached the position as the most secure protocol, going so far as to declare the Wi-Fi Alliance that all future Wi-Fi devices should use WPA2. But, as happened with WEP and WPA, with their use the possibility of attacks has been discovered that, although they take much longer to carry out, are still a problem for security. The development of WPA3 has been the most recent and is distinguished by its 192-bit encryption algorithms, higher than those of WPA2. 

Since 2018, the first devices compatible with it began to be distributed, but today routers that only support WPA2 continue to be sold. Undoubtedly, when it is fully implemented, we will be able to enjoy greater security, better encryption in public networks, and connection facilities for devices with Wi-Fi without screens such as robot vacuum cleaners or smart plugs, among others.

What Type Of Security Does Your Wi-Fi Have?

To check what security standard your Wi-Fi has is by looking at the label located at the bottom of the router, where WEP, WPA, or WPA2 usually appears along with the figures and letters that make up the key assigned to the router. In addition, at Hubler, we have the necessary experts and tools to carry out a Wi-Fi audit that allows you to know if your networks are secure or not.

Under no circumstances should you have WEP encryption configured and if your devices are compatible with the specific type of security WPA2 and AES encryption, you will be able to guarantee the highest security until WPA3 is implemented. We advise you to reinforce the security with a strong Wi-Fi password with 15 characters or more, that is not obvious or contains personal information, that combines upper and lower case letters, special characters and numbers.

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