An example of a PSK would be a Wi-Fi password, which can be up to 63 characters and usually initiates the encryption process. In cryptography this is called a 'shared secret' – it's a piece of data known only by entities involved in the secure communication it is being used for. An example of this is AES (which, confusingly, stands for Advanced Encryption Standard).Īuthentication methods or mechanisms are used to verify wireless clients, such as a Pre-Shared Key (PSK), which is essentially just a string of characters. How encryption protocols encrypt data is determined by ciphers, which are essentially just algorithms that shape the process. An example would be TKIP, the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol. These are occasionally referred to as encryption standards themselves.Ĭertification programs – in this case for Wi-Fi networks – use encryption protocols to secure data transmitted over a given Wi-Fi connection.

WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 are the three wireless network certification programs we'll be discussing in this article. The first things we examine below are certification programs. In articles on network security, the terms 'protocol', 'standard' and 'certification' and 'program' are often used interchangeably What one source, website, or individual refers to as a 'protocol', for instance, might be referred to as a 'standard' elsewhere. In articles about network security, the terms 'protocol', 'standard' and 'certification' and 'program' are often used interchangeably when talking about encryption.

Wep vs wpa pre shared ket