Which of the following is a drawback to using Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)?

Question

Options

• AWireless network overhead is excessive.
• BSymmetric-key encryption is susceptible to cracking.
• CThe number of devices that can communicate using WEP is limited.
• DEncryption and decryption speeds are slower compared to other protocols.

• A
  6% (2)
• B
  88% (29)
• C
  3% (1)
• D
  3% (1)

Explanation

WEP uses RC4, a symmetric-key stream cipher, with a static and short (40-bit or 104-bit) initialization vector (IV) that repeats frequently - attackers can capture enough packets to mathematically crack the key in minutes using tools like Aircrack-ng, making symmetric-key vulnerability the well-documented fatal flaw of WEP. The other options are distractors: WEP does not create excessive network overhead (A) - its overhead is comparable to other encryption schemes; there is no device limit imposed by WEP itself (C); and WEP's encryption/decryption speed is not notably slower than contemporaneous protocols (D). The real issue was never performance or capacity - it was cryptographic weakness in key management and IV reuse.

Memory tip: Think "WEP = Weak Encryption Protocol" - the word weak points directly to the cryptographic/symmetric-key flaw that caused it to be deprecated and replaced by WPA/WPA2.

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