WPA3 ushers in a new era of Wi-Fi security

The standards body behind Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi Alliance, has detailed its next-generation of security protocol, WPA3.

First announced in January 2018, the new protocol is the first update since 2004.

WPA3 adds several new features to improve the former protocol, WPA2, which uses encryption to guard against man-in-the-middle attacks, but is vulnerable to hardware-level attacks and password vulnerabilities.

WPA3-Personal, the consumer version of the protocol, promises extra protection against brute force password cracking, including more resilient, password-based authentication even when users choose insecure passwords.

The protocol uses Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), a secure key establishment protocol between devices, to provide stronger protections for users against password guessing attempts by third parties.

As for enterprise, the Alliance says WPA3 provides the equivalent of 192-bit cryptographic strength, which refers to the security key length — 192 bits. This cryptographic strength meets requirements for high-level government work.

Additionally, Wi-Fi Alliance is introducing Wi-Fi-certified Easy Connect, a program that makes it simpler to onboard Wi-Fi IoT devices with limited or no display interfaces while maintaining high security standards.

Further, there’s better guest access encryption. Wi-Fi networks like the ones at your local coffee shop or library, which are typically highly unsafe, gain individualized data encryption, meaning that even if the network is not protected by a password, your connection to the network will be encrypted.

WPA3 maintains interoperability with WPA2 through ‘transitional mode,’ stated the Wi-Fi Alliance, and the new protocol will become mandatory as adoption grows.

In May, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced Wi-Fi Certified EasyMesh, which works to make mesh routers from different brands work together.

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