Psion Teklogix 9160 G2 - Manual (Page 115)

Psion Teklogix 9160 G2 Wireless Gateway User Manual 93
Chapter 10: Configuring Security
Comparison Of Security Modes For Key Management, Authentication And Encryption Algorithms
10.1.2.1 When To Use Unencrypted (No Security)
Setting the security mode to None (Plain-text) by definition provides no security. In
this mode, the data is not encrypted but rather sent as “plain-text” across the net-
work. No key management, data encryption or user authentication is used.
Recommendations
Unencrypted mode, i.e. None (Plain-text), is not recommended for regular use on
the Internal network because it is not secure. This is the only mode in which you can
run the Guest network, which is by definition an unsecure LAN, always virtually or
physically separated from any sensitive information on the Internal LAN.
Therefore, only set the security mode to None (Plain-text) on the Guest network,
and on the Internal network for initial setup, testing, or problem solving only.
See Also
For information on how to configure unencrypted security mode, see “None (Plain-
text)” on page 100.
10.1.2.2 When To Use Static WEP
Static Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a data encryption protocol for 802.11
wireless networks. All wireless stations and access points on the network are config-
ured with a static 64-bit (40-bit secret key + 24-bit initialization vector (IV)) or 128-
bit (104-bit secret key + 24-bit IV) Shared Key for data encryption.
Key Management Encryption Algorithm User Authentication
Static WEP uses a fixed key
that is provided by the adminis-
trator. WEP keys are indexed in
different slots (up to four on the
9160 G2 Wireless Gateway).
The client stations must have
the same key indexed in the
same slot to access data on the
access point.
An RC4 stream cipher is used to
encrypt the frame body and cyclic
redundancy checking (CRC) of each
802.11 frame. If you set the Authentication Algorithm to
“Shared Key”, this protocol provides a rudi-
mentary form of user authentication.
However, if the Authentication Algorithm is
set to “Open System”, no authentication is
performed.
If the algorithm is set to “Both”, only WEP
clients are authenticated.
Table 10.1 Static WEP Security Mode