Wired Equivalent Privacy
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Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a deprecated algorithm to secure IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. Wireless networks broadcast messages using radio and are thus more susceptible to eavesdropping than wired networks. When introduced in 1997,[1] WEP was intended to provide confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network.
Beginning in 2001, several serious weaknesses were identified by cryptanalysts with the result that today a WEP connection can be cracked with readily available software within minutes.[2] Within a few months the IEEE created a new 802.11i task force to counteract the problems. By 2003, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced that WEP had been superseded by Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), which was a subset of then upcoming 802.11i amendment. Finally in 2004, with the ratification of the full 802.11i standard (i.e., WPA2), the IEEE declared that both WEP-40 and WEP-104 "have been deprecated as they fail to meet their security goals".[3] Despite its weaknesses, WEP is still widely in use.[4] WEP is often the first security choice presented to users by router configuration tools even though it provides a level of security that deters only unintentional use, leaving the network vulnerable to deliberate compromise.[5]
WEP is often inaccurately referred to as Wireless Encryption Protocol.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy
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