Wi-Fi gets its biggest upgrade in a decade

Wi-Fi Alliance Industries that watches over the Wi-Fi standard implementation in all Wi-Fi enabling devices is starting its certifications for products to now support the new WPA3 security protocol. WPA3 security protocol has a number of added protections for Wi-Fi devices in comparison to its predecessor WPA2.

The networking upgrade was long overdue since WPA2 has been under use from 2004. The successor has one major addition that will make it harder for the hackers to crack passwords by guessing it repeatedly. Another big improvement is to limit what the hackers can see even after discovering the password. From the users’ perspective, nothing changes.

The next generation of Wi-Fi security brings to the table new capabilities to enhance Wi-Fi protections in private and enterprise networks. WPA3 enables robust authentication and adds cryptographic strength to sensitive data markets. The new WPA3 network will phase out old legacy protocols and will have a requirement to use Protected Management Frames (PMF) to maintain resiliency of mission-critical networks.

“WPA3 takes the lead in providing the industry’s strongest protections in the ever-changing security landscape,” said Edgar Figueroa, President, and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “WPA3 continues the evolution of Wi-Fi security and maintains the brand promise of Wi-Fi Protected Access.”