GSNA Question #310: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is B. WPA with 802.1X authentication. WPA with 802.1X authentication provides best wireless security mechanism. 802.1X authentication, also known as WPA-Enterprise, is a security mechanism for wireless networks. 802.1X provides port-based authentication, which involves communications between a supplicant, authenticat

Question

Which of the following wireless security features provides the best wireless security mechanism?

Exhibit

Options

AWEP
BWPA with 802.1X authentication
CWPA
DWPA with Pre Shared Key

Explanation

WPA with 802.1X authentication provides best wireless security mechanism. 802.1X authentication, also known as WPA-Enterprise, is a security mechanism for wireless networks. 802.1X provides port-based authentication, which involves communications between a supplicant, authenticator, and authentication server. The supplicant is often software on a client device, the authenticator is a wired Ethernet switch or wireless access point, and an authentication server is generally a RADIUS database. The authenticator acts like a security guard to a protected network. The supplicant (client device) is not allowed access through the authenticator to the protected side of the network until the supplicant's identity is authorized. With 802.1X port-based authentication, the supplicant provides credentials, such as user name/password or digital certificate, to the authenticator, and the authenticator forwards the credentials to the authentication server for verification. If the credentials are valid, the supplicant (client device) is allowed to access resources located on the protected side of the network. Answer: A is incorrect. Wired equivalent privacy (WEP) uses the stream cipher RC4 (Rivest Cipher). WEP uses the Shared Key Authentication, since both the access point and the wireless device possess the same key. Attacker with enough Initialization Vectors can crack the key used and gain full access to the network. Answer: D is incorrect. WPA-PSK is a strong encryption where encryption keys are automatically changed (called rekeying) and authenticated between devices after a fixed period of time, or after a fixed number of packets has been transmitted. Answer: C is incorrect. WAP uses TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) to enhance data encryption, but still vulnerable to different password cracking attacks.

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