WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

Wired Equivalent Privacy was the original Wi-Fi security protocol introduced in 1997 and based on the RC4 cipher. Cryptanalytic attacks published from 2001 onwards rendered it broken; the entire keystream can be recovered in minutes. WEP is removed from modern Wi-Fi standards and must never be used; equipment that only supports WEP should be replaced.

Categories: Threats and AttacksProtocols and StandardsInternet and Routing

WEP in context

Telecom threats range from opportunistic SMS phishing and SIM swap to nation-state grade location tracking and lawful-interception abuse. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling. SS7 and Diameter were designed for a closed operator community that no longer exists.

Telecom security is written into standards from 3GPP, GSMA, ETSI, IETF and ITU-T. Understanding which body owns which specification, and how the specs interlock (for example 3GPP TS 33.501 with GSMA FS.34 for 5G SBA security), is essential for both design and audit work.

To place WEP in the wider telecom-security picture, review WPA2, BGP, PoE, CSIRT, 3GPP and ETSI.

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