WPA2 (WI-FI PROTECTED ACCESS 2)

Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 is a network security technology commonly used on Wi-Fi wireless networks. It's an upgrade from the original WPA technology, which was designed as a replacement for the older and much less secure WEP.

Applicable to both WPA and WPA2, there are two versions targeting different users:

• WPA-Personal was developed for home and small office use and requires no authentication server; and each wireless device uses the same 256-bit authentication key.
• WPA-Enterprise was developed for large businesses and requires a RADIUS authentication server that provides automatic key generation and authentication throughout the entire enterprise.

Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) aims for complete compatibility with IEEE802.11i standard that was partially achieved by WPA. It provides stronger data protection and more control over network access. WPA2 is a NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) compliant encryption algorithm and provides 802.1x-based authentication.

WPA2 replaces TKIP in WPA with Counter mode Cipher block chaining Message authentication Code Protocol (CCMP). However, WPA2 is not compatible with older systems, and so it has emerged as a concurrent security standard along with WPA.