Wireless Security

Computer security in general and issues with wireless security have been widely discussed.  When using wireless devices information is passed through the air, making it possible for anyone to capture it.  Over the last few years there have been many proposed solutions to this problem. 

UW-Whitewater has decided to use the WiFi Protected Access (WPA) method for providing secure transmissions.  This decision was made for two reasons.  First, it is more secure then WEP encryption.  Second, it provides a smooth transition to 802.11i/WPA2 security, which has an even higher level of communication encryption.  As more 802.11i/WPA2 devices become available on the market we will be able to support both WPA/WPA2 simultaneously.

To protect the campus resources from outside access the campus has decided to use 802.1x authentication.  This is an industry standard network authentication protocol that requires users to authenticate before network access is granted.  At UW-Whitewater your 802.1x authentication is tied to your Net-ID account.

Since UWW uses both WPA and 802.1x, users are required to take a few extra steps to get their computer up and running on the wireless network for the first time.  However, given the users of the system and the campus resources that are available, we feel the security is worth the extra time it takes to achieve it.

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