OCU C)HT B Discussion Lesson 12

There are seven main WiFi standards which are IEEE 802.11a, 802.11ac, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11be, and 802.11ac. The different types of encryption for these WiFi standards are WEP, WPA, WPA2, and WPA3. Most networks nowadays are using WPA2 or starting to integrate WPA3 because they are the newer standards for encryption and WEP has been around for a long time. WEP has been around since 1997 which at the time was very evolutionary but since it’s been around for so long people have also had more time to try and figure out how to decrypt WiFi’s using their standard. WPA2 on the other hand, is a newer version of WPA which has all the same features just upgraded and more modernized. I’ve also had more experience using this standard of WiFi encryption because it’s what my home WiFi uses.

Wi-Fi standards have been revised to include greater speed, efficiency, and security for wireless communication. These developments are outlined under different IEEE 802.11 standards, hence affording a wide range of capabilities and requirements regarding network hardware and encryption. The major Wi-Fi standards that exist include 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax.

802.11a: Operates on the 5 GHz band. It can support bandwidth of up to 54 Mbps; however, it has limited coverage compared to the later standards (Henderson, 2021).

802.11b: Operates on a 2.4 GHz band. Because its maximum speed is only up to 11 Mbps, it boasts a farther coverage compared to 802.11a. It became widely popular around the early 2000s (TechTarget, 2023).

802.11g: This standard was released in 2003 and combined the 2.4 GHz band with a maximum speed of 54 Mbps, effectively combining the best features of both 802.11a and 802.11b together .

802.11n – Wi-Fi 4: Supports both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands with maximum speeds of as high as 600 Mbps because of MIMO technology. Other upgrades include security and range.

802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5): This supports the 5 GHz band only, featuring speeds of up to 3.5 Gbps, introducing features such as beamforming and channel bandwidth increases. Additional Network World, 2023.

802.11ax, now more commonly referred to as Wi-Fi 6, operates on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and delivers speeds of as much as 9.6 Gbps. It also introduces OFDMA, which improves the utilization of speed and efficiency when the networks are heavily populated. According to TechTarget, 2023,

Wi-Fi Encryption Options
The range of encryption options that can help protect the Wi-Fi networks goes from the least to more powerful. These are described below.

Wired Equivalent Privacy: It is an encryption technique introduced in the late 1990s. This uses a 40-bit or 104-bit encryption key. It has been found to have a lot of vulnerabilities and is no longer recommended today.

Wi-Fi Protected Access: Besides WEP, an upgraded version was developed named WPA. WPA uses the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol to provide better encryption. It is more secure as compared to WEP, but still, it has some sort of vulnerabilities towards certain types of attacks (Network World, 2023).

WPA2: TKIP was used earlier in WPA, which has been replaced by AES. WPA2 took over and was developed as the Wi-Fi security standard. WPA2 is not as popular as used by a lot of people; it is somewhat prone to brute-force attack if any weak password is set (TechTarget, 2023).

WPA3: The latest encryption standard, WPA3, improves security with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) and mitigates vulnerabilities from previous WPA protocols. WPA3 is highly recommended for modern networks (Henderson, 2021).

Each Wi-Fi standard and encryption protocol has contributed to more secure and reliable wireless networks meeting the needs of modern communication.

References
Henderson, T. (2021). Wi-Fi standards and speeds explained. Network World. Retrieved from https://www.networkworld.com/article/wi-fi-standards-speeds

Network World. 2023. 802.11 Wi-Fi standards and what they mean. Network World. https://www.networkworld.com/wi-fi-standards

TechTarget. 2023. Wi-Fi encryption standards and their differences. TechTarget. https://www.techtarget.com

There are several different types of Wi-Fi standards. The first was introduced in 1997. In 1997 the IEEE (institute of electrical and electronic engineers) introduced IEEE 802.11. This standard speed was 2 Mbps. Shortly after the introduction of the IEEE 802.11 came the 802.11a the standard was used to assist with traffic interference with other devices on the frequency 2.4. 802.11a uses 5Ghz frequency. That same year 802.11b was developed but uses frequency 2.4Ghz. 802.11b is used in home settings and 802.11a is used in a commercial setting. In 2003 802.11g combined the features of 802.11a and 802.11b using frequency 2.4Ghz. 802.11n allowed for both 802.11a and 802.11b features to use frequencies 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz in 2009. In 2013 802.11ac standard operates on 5Ghz with a speed of 1.5 Gbps. 802.11n is the most commonly used standard in households today. The most advanced version is the 802.11ax this runs on Both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. This standard allows for 40% more traffic.

Asides from the Wi-Fi standards there are also Wi-Fi encryption standards. WEP, WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 are Wi-Fi security protocols that prevent unauthorized access and eavesdropping on wireless. WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, it was introduced in 1997 with the 802.11. A 64–128-bit encryption is used to keep information confidential. The WEP uses static keys for encryption. The WPA is also known as Wi-Fi Protected Access. This type of encryption uses packets and has a dynamic key. WPA uses 128-bit encryptions and TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) to ensure the data is encrypted. WPA2 and WPA3 are each updated and improved versions of WPA. The most current and secure version is WPA3 which uses a 256-bit encryption.

Šlekytė, I., & Šlekytė, I. (2024, September 22). WEP, WPA, WPA2, and WPA3: Main differences | NordVPN. NordVPN. https://nordvpn.com/blog/wep-vs-wpa-vs-wpa2-vs-wpa3/

GeeksforGeeks. (2021, March 17). WiFi standards explained. GeeksforGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/wi-fi-standards-explained/

Wi-Fi standards have evolved significantly, offering various speeds and ranges. Starting with 802.11a (5 GHz, up to 54 Mbps) and 802.11b (2.4 GHz, up to 11 Mbps), the technology progressed to 802.11g (2.4 GHz, up to 54 Mbps) and 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4, dual band, up to 600 Mbps). Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) operates at 5 GHz with speeds up to 3.5 Gbps, while Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) enhances efficiency and speed up to 9.6 Gbps across 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The upcoming Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) promises speeds exceeding 30 Gbps across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. For security, WEP is outdated and insecure, while WPA offers medium security. WPA2, using AES, is widely adopted for its high security, and WPA3 provides very high security with advanced features against brute-force attacks. Each standard and encryption method caters to different needs, ensuring robust and secure wireless connectivity.

Wired Equivalent Private (WEP) It’s a Security protocol that allows data to be sent over Wlan.
WI-FI Protected Access
(WPA) this method allows up to 256 bit keys to keep your information secure.
WPA2.WPA3,IEEE, open network

Open Network allows anyone to login and without a password and makes your information very vulnerable and easy to access. WEP is protected with a passcode but isn’t very secure.
WPA2 is encrypted but has been known to slow your operating system down. WPA3 is the newest but many hasn’t used it enough to trust that their information is safe to not be hacked.

Wi-Fi standards have evolved significantly over the years, each offering different speeds and ranges. The 802.11a standard operates at a 5 GHz frequency with a maximum speed of 54 Mbps, but it has a shorter range, making it more suitable for indoor use. On the other hand, 802.11b operates at 2.4 GHz with a maximum speed of 11 Mbps, providing better range but slower speeds. The 802.11g standard also uses the 2.4 GHz frequency but offers improved speeds of up to 54 Mbps. Moving forward, 802.11n introduced dual-band capabilities, operating on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, and offers speeds up to 600 Mbps with better range thanks to MIMO technology. The 802.11ac standard, operating at 5 GHz, significantly boosts speeds up to 1.3 Gbps, making it ideal for activities like HD video streaming and gaming. The latest, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), operates on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, providing speeds up to 9.6 Gbps and enhanced performance in environments with many devices.