WPA3 Brings New Authentication and Encryption to WiFi

The Wi-Fi Alliance officially launches its latest protocol, which offers new capabilities for personal, enterprise, and IoT wireless networks.

Curtis Franklin

June 26, 2018

1 Min Read
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WiFi connections soon will become easier to secure with a newly available security protocol from the Wi-Fi Alliance.

WPA3 is the latest version of Wi-Fi Protected Access, a suite of protocols and technologies that provide authentication and encryption for WiFi networks. WPA3, which was first announced earlier this year, is now available for inclusion in products. It brings two deployment models, personal and enterprise, along with a related security set called Easy Connect.

Kevin Robinson, vice president of marketing for the Wi-Fi Alliance, says WPA3 is intended to meet the security needs of wireless users in a security landscape that has become very dynamic. "WPA3 simplifies configuration and adds more authentication and increased cryptographic levels," Robinson says.

The primary enhancement to WPA3 Personal is in the authentication process, where WPA3 makes brute-force dictionary attacks much more difficult and time-consuming for an attacker. "For every guess at a password the attacker has to interact with the network," Robinson explains.

Read the rest of this article on Dark Reading.

About the Author(s)

Curtis Franklin

Executive ProducerCurtis Franklin Jr. is executive editor for technical content at InformationWeek. In this role he oversees product and technology coverage for the publication. In addition he acts as executive producer for InformationWeek Radio and Interop Radio where he works with InformationWeek editors and guests to tell a variety of compelling audio stories. Curtis has been writing about technologies and products in computing and networking since the early 1980s. He has contributed to a number of technology-industry publications including Enterprise Efficiency, ChannelWeb, Network Computing, InfoWorld, PCWorld, Dark Reading, and ITWorld.com on subjects ranging from mobile enterprise computing to enterprise security and wireless networking. Curtis is the author of hundreds of articles, the co-author of three books, and has been a frequent speaker at computer and networking industry conferences across North America and Europe. His most popular book, The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting , with co-author George Colombo, was published by Que Books. His most recent book, Cloud Computing: Technologies and Strategies of the Ubiquitous Data Center , with co-author Brian Chee, was released in April 2010. When he's not writing, Curtis is a painter, photographer, cook, and multi-instrumentalist musician. He is active in amateur radio (KG4GWA), scuba diving, stand-up paddleboarding, and is a certified Florida Master Naturalist.

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