Additional Security Features

These security features prevent attacks on a wireless network's WEP keys. The wireless adapter automatically supports each of these features, but these features must be enabled on the access point.

Message Integrity Check (MIC)

MIC prevents bit-flip attacks on encrypted packets. In a bit-flip attack, someone intercepts an encrypted message retransmits it after some alterations.  Thus the receiver accepts the message as legitimate.  The MIC adds some bytes to each packet to protect it against tampering.

Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)

This feature prevents attacks on WEP in which someone catches encrypted packets and uses their initialization vector (IV) to decipher the WEP key. TKIP removes the predictability to protect both unicast and broadcast WEP keys.

Broadcast Key Rotation

EAP authentication provides dynamic unicast WEP keys for wireless adapters, but uses static broadcast keys. In broadcast WEP key rotation, the access point supplies a dynamic broadcast WEP key and changes it at intervals.