The next generation of wireless security has been announced by The Wi-Fi Alliance: the WPA3 protocol is coming soon, and brings with it a host of improvements to security, usability, and collaboration. After more than ten years of WPA2, the newest iteration of Wi-Fi Protected Access is looking to be rolled out within the next year and promises to be a major upgrade from today’s protocol which is feeling the strain of more advanced attacks against it every day.
WPA3 will offer two modes of operation: WPA3-Personal and WPA3-Enterprise. The former will offer a more secure encryption key generation method known as Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), along with a more robust password authentication system, even if the user chooses a password that does not meet industry complexity recommendations. The Enterprise version will incorporate the equivalent of a 192-bit cryptography strength, which adds extra protection for systems that transmit sensitive data like financial or government industries.
Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance said:
“WPA3 takes the lead in providing the industry’s strongest protections in the ever-changing security landscape, WPA3 continues the evolution of Wi-Fi security and maintains the brand promise of Wi-Fi Protected Access.”
Phil Solis, Research Director for IDC said:
“The evolution of Wi-Fi to stay ahead of market needs has been critical to it remaining one of wireless technology’s greatest success stories, Wi-Fi Alliance has been instrumental in Wi-Fi’s evolution, and diligent about delivering Wi-Fi CERTIFIED programs so users and a variety of markets can rely on the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity and security to meet their needs.”
Another innovative feature of WPA3 is a new tool called Wi-Fi Easy Connect. With the rise in Internet of Things devices – some of which have limited interfaces and even more limited security protocols – a major problem has been getting these devices online on a wifi network in a secure manner. With Wi-Fi Easy Connect, an IoT device will come with a QR code that is scanned from a second device, such as a smartphone or PC, to tell the router how to connect with the device. A secure, encrypted channel is then created with the device, allowing it to communicate on the network without exposing other devices to risk, as is often the case with WPA2.
Yet another innovation in WPA3 is a protocol called Wi-Fi Enhanced Open, which brings new security protections for open wireless networks. Through this feature, all communications on open wireless networks will be encrypted with unique session keys by default, along with a suite of other controls whose details have not yet been released.
The Wi-Fi Alliance recognized the need for backwards compatibility with WPA2 devices as market adoption of the technology will likely be a slow and difficult process. The group provided assurance that WPA2 and WPA3 devices will work together seamlessly, with the WPA3 protocol able to bring additional security controls to these types of connections, even if only one of the devices supports WPA3.
While we’re still in the early stages of learning about WPA3, these early announcements have been a great step forward for the future of wireless networking. Stay tuned to this blog for updates on new developments as they happen.
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