Wireless Security Flashcards
Which of the following wireless encryption schemes offers the highest level of protection?
WEP
WPA3
WAP
WPA
WPA2
WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3) offers the highest level of protection among the options listed. It provides advanced security features to protect Wi-Fi networks against modern threats.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is an outdated wireless encryption scheme that offers the lowest level of protection and is highly vulnerable to security breaches.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is a protocol used for accessing information over wireless networks but is not an encryption scheme for securing Wi-Fi communications.
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is an older wireless encryption scheme that provides better security than WEP but has been largely superseded by WPA2 and WPA3.
WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) is a widely used wireless encryption scheme that offers strong security features but has known vulnerabilities, especially with the KRACK attack.
KRACK Attack
The KRACK attack, which stands for Key Reinstallation Attack, is a serious vulnerability discovered in 2017 that affects the WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) protocol, the most widely used Wi-Fi security protocol.
This attack allows an adversary within range of a victim’s Wi-Fi network to intercept and manipulate data transmitted between the victim’s device and the Wi-Fi access point. The vulnerability arises from the way WPA2 implements the 4-way handshake, a key exchange mechanism used to establish a secure connection between a client device and a Wi-Fi network.
By exploiting weaknesses in the 4-way handshake process, an attacker can trick the victim’s device into reinstalling an already-in-use encryption key, thereby allowing the attacker to decrypt and intercept data transmitted over the Wi-Fi network.
Which of the wireless security protocols listed below has been deprecated in favor of newer standards due to known vulnerabilities resulting from implementation flaws?
EAP
AES
WPA2
WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) has been deprecated in favor of newer standards due to known vulnerabilities resulting from implementation flaws.
EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) is an authentication framework, not a wireless security protocol, and while specific implementations of EAP may have vulnerabilities, it has not been deprecated as a whole.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a symmetric encryption algorithm used in various security protocols, including WPA2 and WPA3, but it itself has not been deprecated due to vulnerabilities.
WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) is a widely used wireless security protocol that, while having known vulnerabilities such as the KRACK attack, has not been deprecated outright.
Which of the cryptographic algorithms listed below is the least vulnerable to attacks?
AES
DES
RC4
3DES
The correct answer is:
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is the least vulnerable to attacks among the cryptographic algorithms listed.
Incorrect answers:
DES (Data Encryption Standard) is an older encryption algorithm that is now considered weak due to its small key size, making it vulnerable to brute-force attacks.
RC4 is a stream cipher that has numerous vulnerabilities and weaknesses, including biases in its output stream, making it susceptible to attacks.
3DES (Triple Data Encryption Standard) is a symmetric encryption algorithm that, while more secure than DES, is considered weaker compared to AES due to its larger key size and vulnerabilities to certain types of attacks.
Which of the following encryption schemes is used in WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)?
RC4
AES-CCMP
TKIP with RC4
AES-GCMP
AES-CCMP (Advanced Encryption Standard with Counter Mode Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol) is used in WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA2).
Incorrect answers:
RC4 was used in the original version of WPA, but it is not used in WPA2 due to its vulnerabilities.
TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) with RC4 was used in the original version of WPA, but it is also not used in WPA2 due to its vulnerabilities.
AES-GCMP is not used in WPA2. WPA2 primarily uses AES-CCMP for encryption and authentication.
AES-GCMP vs AES-CCMP
AES-GCMP and AES-CCMP are both encryption modes used in wireless communication protocols, but they have different characteristics. AES-GCMP is a more general-purpose encryption mode, while AES-CCMP is specific to WiFi networks using WPA2 security.
AES-GCMP (Galois/Counter Mode) combines the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) block cipher with the Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) for encryption and authentication. GCM provides both confidentiality and integrity protection by encrypting data using AES in counter mode and generating an authentication tag. AES-GCMP is efficient for parallel processing and commonly used in applications requiring high-speed encryption.
AES-CCMP (Counter Mode Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol) is specific to the WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) protocol, securing wireless networks. It combines AES with Counter Mode (CTR) for encryption and Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code (CBC-MAC) for authentication. AES-CCMP ensures confidentiality and integrity protection for WiFi data transmission, optimized for robust security in wireless environments.
For the purpose of encryption, WiFi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) takes advantage of: (Select 2 answers)
AES-GCMP
PSK
TKIP with RC4
RC4
AES-CCMP
SAE
For the purpose of encryption, WiFi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) takes advantage of:
AES-GCMP (Galois/Counter Mode) is a mode of operation for the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) block cipher used for encryption and authentication. It provides both confidentiality and integrity protection, making it suitable for securing wireless communications in WPA3.
SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals) is a key establishment protocol used in WPA3 that provides enhanced security for password-based authentication. It replaces the Pre-Shared Key (PSK) method used in WPA2, offering protection against offline dictionary attacks and other security enhancements.
Incorrect answers:
PSK (Pre-Shared Key) is a method of authentication, not encryption, used in WPA2. It has been replaced by SAE in WPA3.
TKIP with RC4 was used in WPA, but it is not used in WPA3 due to vulnerabilities.
RC4 is a stream cipher that has vulnerabilities and is not used in WPA3.
AES-CCMP was used in WPA2, but WPA3 primarily uses AES-GCMP instead.
Which of the following acronyms refers to a client authentication method used in WPA2 Personal mode?
AES
RC4
IKE
PSK
SAE
PSK stands for Pre-Shared Key, which is a method of authentication used in WPA2 Personal mode. In this mode, all devices share a common passphrase or key, which is used to authenticate clients and encrypt data on the wireless network.
Incorrect answers:
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and RC4 are encryption algorithms used in WPA2, not authentication methods.
IKE (Internet Key Exchange) is a protocol used in VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) for key exchange and authentication, not specifically related to WPA2 Personal mode.
SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals) is a client authentication method introduced in WPA3, not WPA2 Personal mode.
EAP
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is an authentication framework commonly used in wireless networks and point-to-point connections.
It provides a framework for various authentication mechanisms, referred to as EAP methods, to establish secure connections.
Which of the following EAP methods offers the highest level of security?
PEAP
EAP-FAST
EAP-TLS
EAP-TTLS
EAP-TLS (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Layer Security) provides strong security by requiring both the client and the server to present digital certificates for mutual authentication. This ensures that both parties can verify each other’s identities securely before establishing a connection.
PEAP (Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol) and EAP-FAST (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunneling) both provide enhanced security compared to older methods like EAP-MD5. However, they typically rely on server-side certificates rather than requiring both client and server certificates for mutual authentication like EAP-TLS does.
EAP-TTLS (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Tunneled Transport Layer Security) offers improved security compared to older methods, but it may not provide the same level of security as EAP-TLS, as it does not necessarily require client certificates for mutual authentication.
Which of the EAP methods listed below relies on client-side and server-side certificates for authentication?
EAP-TLS
PEAP
EAP-TTLS
EAP-FAST
EAP-TLS requires both the client and the server to present digital certificates for mutual authentication. This means that both the client and the server must possess valid certificates, and each verifies the authenticity of the other’s certificate before establishing a connection.
Incorrect answers:
PEAP (Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol), EAP-TTLS (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Tunneled Transport Layer Security), and EAP-FAST (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunneling) typically rely on server-side certificates for authentication, but they do not necessarily require client-side certificates for mutual authentication like EAP-TLS does.
