Wi-Fi Standards and Wireless Security: Organizing WPA3 and Wi-Fi 6 for the IT Passport Exam

What is Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi refers to the series of industry standard wireless LAN specifications, IEEE 802.11, certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Since 2018, generation names like Wi-Fi 4/5/6/7 have been adopted.

Wi-Fi Standard Generations

The 2.4 GHz band is good at penetrating obstacles but is slower, while the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands are fast but weak against obstacles.

Wireless LAN Security Standards

WEP (Old, Not Recommended)

WEP is an early standard established in 1997, but vulnerabilities have been discovered, and it should not be used today.

WPA (Interim)

WPA emerged as an interim standard to address WEP's vulnerabilities.

WPA2 (Widely Adopted)

WPA2 adopted AES encryption and was the standard for a long time, but since the KRACK attack vulnerability was found, migration to WPA3 is recommended.

WPA3 (Recommended)

WPA3 is the latest standard established in 2018, stronger than WPA2, and resistant to dictionary attacks even in personal mode.

SSID and Connection Management

An SSID is the network name for a wireless LAN. Stealth SSID is a weak measure that hides the broadcast, and MAC address filtering is a supplementary measure that only allows authorized devices to connect.

Risks of Public Wi-Fi

Unencrypted public Wi-Fi or WEP hotspots pose eavesdropping risks, so countermeasures using HTTPS or a VPN (What is VPN) are essential.

Key Points for the IT Passport Exam

In the IT Passport exam, the generation names and standard numbers for Wi-Fi 6/5, the recommendation of WPA3, the non-recommendation of WEP, and SSIDs and stealth SSIDs frequently appear.

Typical Past Exam Question Patterns

• "Which wireless LAN security standard is currently recommended?" type → WPA3
• "Which standard corresponds to Wi-Fi 6?" type → 11ax

Related Terms

• VPN (What is VPN)
• Encryption (Basics of Encryption)
• 5G (Features and Uses of 5G)

Study Tips

Memorize the correspondence between generation names and standard numbers (Wi-Fi 6 = 11ax), understand the generational order of security standards (WEP → WPA → WPA2 → WPA3), and be sure to note that WPA3 is recommended.

Summary

You can score points by mastering these three points: standard generations, WPA3, and public Wi-Fi risks. For further practice, use the Technology Summary, and for exam preparation, use the Practice Exam.