2.2 802.1x
Soon after the massive adoption of 802.11b, a new and
improved security mechanism was introduced, 802.1x[5].
This mechanism made modifications to the clients, APs and
added an authentication server that would allow clients to
authenticate to the network. The protocol was made to be
general enough so that many different authentication protocols
could be utilized as seen fit by those deploying the
network.
This newer solution is not without its flaws either [9]; in
fact, it suffers from the same fundamental flaw that 802.11b
suffers from: there is no authentication of the network.
Without this mutual authentication, there is no guarantee
that the client connects to the desired network and thus cannot
trust the AP it connects to.
802.1x and TKIP, which amounts to an improved version
of WEP, have been packaged into a new security solution
called WiFi Protected Access (WPA). This interim solution
addresses client access to the network and WEP’s previous
vulnerabilities. TKIP still relies on a pre shared key, thus is
still vulnerable to MITM attack from valid network clients.
The latest standard, 802.11i, also leverages these solutions
but is supposed to add secure deauthentication and disassociation
among other things. This standard is still in the draft
phase and is expect out in the end of 2003.