The Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards board is expected to come out with
decision on whether the current version of the 802.11i specification is reliable
enough to become an industry standard. According to Brian Matthews, publicity
chairman of the IEEE 802.11 working group and vice president of AbsoluteValue
Systems, the current draft has already been through a review committee and
details have been worked out.
Wi-Fi products establish WLANs that allow devices to connect to one another,
transmitting and receiving data within a range of 150 feet. With the 802.11i
specification inching towards becoming an industry standard, there will lot of
action happening at the wireless networking front and the businesses wanting to
adopt it. Some of the earlier security measures, such as Wired Equivalent
Privacy (WEP), were prone to hacking, leaving many security-conscious IT
managers wary of wireless networking gear.
The final 802.11i specification
ensures that the data sent along those networks is encrypted and can't be broken
by anyone who may intercept it.
The wireless networking
industry has been looking for ways to ease those concerns and patch up the
reputation of its equipment. A superior form of encryption, dubbed WPA (Wi-Fi
Protected Access), has basically replaced WEP, although it still doesn't meet
the stringent standards needed for the transmission of sensitive government
data. An interim security specification, WPA was developed and made available in
early 2003, and companies began work on an industry standard, 802.11i. 802.11i's
encryption protocols are based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
While business sales lagged in
2002, the wireless networking market was buoyed by consumers, who took advantage
of cut-rate prices. A year later, companies slowly began buying wireless
networking gear again.
Many of the new features in
802.11i are already being used in Wi-Fi equipment, which has helped business
sales. The most significant feature is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), a
strong encryption standard supporting 128-bit, 192-bit and 256-bit keys, said
Robin Ritch, Intel's director of security industry marketing.
Enterprises with newer wireless networking
equipment should be able to download the new standard once it is ratified.
However, IT managers with older products might need to upgrade their equipment
to handle the extra processing requirements of 802.11i, the Wi-Fi Alliance said
earlier this year.
The Wi-Fi Alliance plans to certify products for
802.11i starting in September.
Later this year, the IEEE plans to begin the
final approval process for the 802.11e standard for wireless video and audio.
This is expected to help improve the quality of service of wireless media
networks. The Wi-Fi Alliance had expected the standard to be approved by the end
of this year, in time for the holiday shopping season, but sources indicated
Wednesday that the 802.11e approval process should carry over well into next
year.