Wi-Fi Alliance announced the WPA3 protocol with new security features and the development of Wi-Fi standard 802.11ax

Wi-Fi Alliance announced the long-awaited third generation of wireless security protocol - Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA3).

WPA3 will replace the existing WPA2 — a network security protocol that has been in existence for at least 15 years and has been used by billions of wireless devices every day.
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The insecurity of WPA2 has long been discussed by experts. The turning point was October 2017, when researcher Mathie Vanhoef discovered a vulnerability in the WPA2 protocol, putting at risk virtually all existing Wi-Fi networks. With its help, an attacker can carry out a key reinstallation attack ( Key Reinstallation Attack , KRACK) and gain access to confidential data. The vulnerability caused serious security concerns because it was contained in the WPA2 protocol itself.

The new Wi-Fi security standard, which will be available for both personal and corporate wireless devices, should provide enhanced privacy with four new features.

1. The WPA3 protocol enhances user privacy in open networks by individually encrypting data. You can encrypt the connection between each device and the access point.
2. Introduced protection against attacks by the method of "brute force", which does not allow hackers to make several attempts to log into the system using commonly used passwords. The protection mechanism works through locking the authentication process after several unsuccessful authorization attempts have occurred.
3. Introduced simplified configuration for IoT-devices. WPA3 has the ability to use Wi-Fi devices that are located close to each other, as a configuration panel for other devices. So, the user will be able to use a phone or tablet in order to adjust the Wi-Fi WPA3 settings on devices that do not have a screen.
4. A modernized cryptographic standard for Wi-Fi networks, the so-called “192-bit security package”, has been introduced. It will focus on the Commercial National Security Algorithm (CNSA) Suite, created by the Committee on National Security Systems. This solution is primarily intended for networks with higher security requirements, such as government, defense and industrial organizations.

Since the hardware must be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance to use the WPA3 security protocol, the new security standard will not be implemented overnight. Device manufacturers may take several months. It is expected that the first certified WPA3 devices will be available later this year, so for our customers we offer a free VPN with strong encryption for accessing the cloud . More information about WPA3 will be published later.

Among other new developments planned by the Wi-Fi Alliance for 2018, we can highlight the new standard Wi-Fi 802.11ax.

Transferring data to specific phones, PCs and other devices instead of “filling the entire room with radio signals”

"On average, the American home already has more than eight devices using Wi-Fi," said Kevin Robinson, vice president of marketing for the Wi-Fi Alliance. For this reason, future developments, such as the new Wi-Fi 802.11ax standard, are focused on “increasing the overall network bandwidth,” rather than increasing the peak data rate.

Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) is one of the key innovations in 802.11ac . It allows you to split spatial streams and organize simultaneous data transfer to multiple clients (instead of transmitting only one client for regular MIMO at the same time). MU-MIMO works on wave 2 devices and is valid only for a downlink connection (from the access point to the client). Provided service no more than four users. Current access points support up to three users in MU-MIMO mode.



The Wi-Fi 802.11ax standard is intended primarily to expand network bandwidth (4-fold growth is expected) and more optimal use of the Wi-Fi spectrum in order to maintain high-quality connections in problem areas. The growing number of connected devices, the variety of traffic and the density of overlapping networks are currently overwhelming the Wi-Fi spectrum and jeopardizing the connection quality. To solve this problem, 802.11ax will support more streams and other features to maximize throughput and coverage. In addition, such solutions support cellular technologies such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access and traffic scheduling designed for greater efficiency. 802.11ax should help in situations with congested channel, being able to more intelligently manage a large number of connections.

Optimized Wi-Fi connectivity for increased mobility

Wi-Fi Vantage technology will better manage connections when there are multiple access points to the network. This means, for example, that users will be able to move from one access point to another, whether at the train station or in their own home, without breaking the connection while they are speaking over the Internet.

“Previously, most of us used to access a single Wi-Fi access point. Difficulties arose if there were too many walls in your apartment and you could not get a good signal. Currently, several routers are more common, and the Wi-Fi Alliance began working to allow several network devices to interact automatically, so that the data got to where it is needed, and without having to manually connect your phone with this router, and this light bulb with to others, ”added Robinson.

And although the overall network bandwidth is the main direction of 802.11ax development, the maximum speed should also improve - from 433 Mbps for 802.11ac to 600 Mbps for 802.11ax.

Analysts from IHS Markit predict that shipments of devices with 802.11ax support will increase from a minimum volume of 116,000 units in 2019 to 58 million in 2021.