As an IT intern, you have been asked to help set up a secure Wi-Fi network for a local coffee shop. The owners want to provide free Wi-Fi to their customers, but they are concerned about potential…

Disabling the network's SSID broadcast offers minimal security as the SSID can still be discovered by network scanners, while making it more difficult for legitimate users to find and connect to the network.

Enabling MAC address filtering is impractical for a public Wi-Fi network because MAC addresses can be easily spoofed and managing a list of all potential customer device MAC addresses would be an unmanageable administrative burden.

Requiring customers to use a VPN is an client-side security measure that does not secure the Wi-Fi network itself and places an unreasonable burden on customers, negatively impacting usability for a free public service.

Implementing WPA2 or WPA3 encryption is the foundational and most effective security measure for a Wi-Fi network, protecting wireless traffic from eavesdropping and unauthorized access. These protocols provide robust encryption, such as AES, ensuring data confidentiality for customers, and are simple to manage with a pre-shared key (PSK) for a public guest network, fulfilling the need for a solution that does not require significant technical knowledge.