In a wireless network using WPA/WPA2-PSK security policy, each STA uses a different encryption key to transmit business data. Even if you obtain the pre-shared key of a certain STA through brute…

Question

Options

• ATrue
• BFalse

• A
  71% (45)
• B
  29% (18)

Explanation

Option A is correct because WPA/WPA2-PSK uses a 4-way handshake to derive a unique Pairwise Transient Key (PTK) for each client session - the PTK is computed from the shared PSK combined with random nonces (ANonce + SNonce) and MAC addresses that are unique per session, so every STA ends up with a different actual encryption key for unicast traffic. Even if an attacker brute-forces the PSK from one captured handshake, they still cannot derive another STA's PTK without also capturing that STA's specific handshake nonces, meaning they cannot decrypt that STA's unicast business data.

Option B is wrong because it conflates the PSK (a shared secret used for authentication) with the per-session PTK (the actual encryption key) - knowing the former does not automatically expose the latter for other sessions.

Memory tip: Think of the PSK as a "recipe" and the nonces as unique random ingredients - everyone uses the same recipe, but each session's dish tastes different, so tasting one dish tells you nothing about another's flavor.

No community discussion yet for this question.