What Is WPA3 Wifi Encryption And How Is It Better Than WPA2

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You might have noticed a new wifi encryption WPA3 in your wifi router wireless security settings and might be wondering what is wpa3 encryption and how it is work. The Wi-Fi Alliance has recently announced the latest version of the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security protocol, WPA3. This new version is intended to be more secure than its predecessor, WPA2.

WPA3 will offer two different modes of operation: Personal and Enterprise. Personal mode will use a simpler setup process and better protections for home networks, while Enterprise mode will provide protection for networks with sensitive data.

WPA3 includes new features such as forward secrecy, 192-bit cryptography, and a 192-bit security suite that offers additional protections for private information over a wireless network. The new standard also offers protection against offline password cracking techniques and prevents attackers from using known network vulnerabilities to inject malware into unencrypted traffic.

What is WPA3 Wifi Encryption Protocol

The authentication mechanism known as Pre-Shared Key (PSK), which was used in earlier versions of WPA, has been replaced by Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) in WPA3, which has resulted in an enhancement to the overall Wi-Fi encryption.

This enables greater functionality, which makes it more difficult for hackers to access WPA3-Personal networks with easy passphrases by utilizing off-site brute-force and dictionary-based cracking attempts, as was the case with WPA and WPA2. When someone is attempting to directly connect to the Wi-Fi with a device, of course, it will still be just as easy for that person to guess a very basic password, but this means of breaking the security is less practical.

The encryption provided by WPA3-Personal is more tailored to the specific user. Even if they have the Wi-Fi password and are successfully connected to the network, users on a WPA3-Personal network will never be able to eavesdrop on the communications of another user who is also using WPA3-Personal. In addition, even if an outsider is able to figure out the password, they will not be able to passively witness an exchange and figure out the session keys. This will ensure that network traffic is kept secret in the forward direction. In addition to this, they are unable to decode any data that was taken before the code was cracked.

Features of WPA3

Here are some of the wpa3 features which makes it great choice over other Wi-Fi encryption standards.

Ease of connectivity

There are hundreds of WiFi-enabled devices that do not have displays, such as Internet of Things sensors and micro controllers. These devices need to be cable-connected to another device in order to create the WiFi connection and configure the device to connect to the desired WiFi network.

However, with the help of this brand-new WPA3 function, we can wirelessly configure a nearby gadget by using another device. For instance, if you use WPA3 Security, you may use your mobile phone or laptop to connect an Internet of Things (IoT) device to a network without the need for a display unit.

Open Wifi Security and individual data encryption

Using open WiFi in public locations like restaurants and airports has been a major issue for as long as it has been. Due to the absence of encryption on the open wireless network, it is possible for anybody to eavesdrop on the traffic and launch a variety of attacks not only against the users but also against the access point itself.

Even for WiFi networks that do not need users to enter passwords, WPA3 Security makes available a data security technology known as Individual Data Encryption. This individual data encryption encrypts the data packets of each device using unique keys. This prevents potential attackers from sniffing the traffic, hence enhancing both privacy and security.

Brute Force attack Protection

An attack using brute force is one of the most prevalent methods used against WiFi access points. In this stage of the assault, the attacker sends a series of regularly used passwords to the access point, trying each one until it is successful. It will be tough for attackers to try all of the passwords on the list since WPA3 Security has a technique to avoid brute force attacks that would stop the connection from a device after a certain number of unsuccessful tries.

Better protection for weak passwords

This is one of the characteristics of WPA3 that can assist users in protecting their WiFi networks without compromising network speed, even if they do not have extensive knowledge of WiFi security. If the password for the WPA2 network has fewer than eight digits or if it does not contain alphanumeric and special characters, then the network is considered to be unsafe. WPA3 Security, on the other hand, offers reliable security for networks even when the passwords used do not meet the standard standards for complexity.

What makes WPA 3 Better Than WPA2? ( WPA3 Vs WPA2)

The new WPA3 protocol is an enormous improvement over its predecessor, the WPA2 standard. The following are some of its major characteristics that set it apart from its predecessor, the WPA2:

Wpa3 is capable of 192-bit security when operating in business mode, which results in larger session keys.
It defends the system against attempts to access it by using brute force. WPA3 only permits the user to guess the password a single time, and it is required that they be physically there, which necessitates having direct contact with the system, which significantly increases the level of security.
GCMP-256 encryption is implemented by WPA3, whereas WPA2 only used 128-bit encryption. In addition, WPA3 replaces the usage of a shared password with the use of DPP when logging in to a public network.
WPA3 is able to offer a safe handshake that allows a device to connect to a wireless network, verify itself, and then connect to the network after it has been verified. This is protected by the DPP protocol.

Can I use WPA3 and WPA2?

WPA3 devices are backward compatible with WPA2 devices, but older Wi-Fi devices do not detect WPA3 and only support WPA2. WPA2 is the only security protocol supported by legacy Wi-Fi devices. Even if you have a Wi-Fi router that supports WPA3, you won’t be able to take full benefit of the increased functionality without clients (your smartphone and PC) that also support WPA3.

Does WPA3 slow down Wi-Fi?

When implementing a hybrid “WPA2+WPA3” kind of encryption with some mobile devices, a slowdown in transmission speed is possible (both old and not so). This is because the client device contains a Wi-Fi module, which has a functionality that is responsible for this.

How do I know if my Wi-Fi is WPA3?

Click the icon for the Wi-Fi network that is located on the right side of the taskbar, and then select Properties from the drop-down menu that appears directly below the name of the Wi-Fi network. Examine the number that is displayed next to the “Security type” heading in the “Properties” section of the Wi-Fi network screen. If you are linked to a network that protects data transmissions using WPA3 encryption, then it will contain WPA3.