Knowledge Check (WEP, WPA, TKIP, RC4)|Verified A+
Graded Rationales Latest Updated 2026
From the list below, select the options that underscore weaknesses in WEP. Select all that apply.
- Small value of IV
- No IV used
- Lack of message tampering identification
- No master key used
- Small value of IV
- Lack of message tampering identification
Explanation:
WEP is weak from a number of viewpoints including:
• Small value of IV. This meant that it repeated within a reasonable time,
and the key could then be attacked.
• Construction of keys made it susceptible to the weak key attacks (FMS
attack).
• Lack of protection against message replay. There was no protection
against cipher streams being played back over the network.
• Lack of message tampering identification. The method did not support
the detection of message tampering.
• Directly used a master key. The method had no way of updating the keys.
The initialization vector used with WEP is _____ bits long?
24
Explanation:
Within IEEE 802.11 networks, WEP (Wired Equivalent Protocol), which uses RC4 and a 24-bit IV,
could roll-around after a few hours. This method was replaced by TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity
Protocol) and which had a 48-bit IV value, and where a session key was used as the seed for the
S-box.
Select the the weaknesses in WEP from the list below. Select all that apply.
- Small value of IV
, - Susceptibility to Fluhrer, Mantin, Shamir attack
- Lack of message tampering identification
- Susceptibility to message replay
- Small value of IV
- Susceptibility to Fluhrer, Mantin, Shamir attack
- Lack of message tampering identification
- Susceptibility to message replay
Explanation:
WEP is weak from a number of viewpoints including:
• Small value of IV. This meant that it repeated within a reasonable time,
and the key could then be attacked.
• Construction of keys made it susceptible to the weak key attacks (FMS
attack).
• Lack of protection against message replay. There was no protection
against cipher streams being played back over the network.
• Lack of message tampering identification. The method did not support
the detection of message tampering.
• Directly used a master key. The method had no way of updating the keys.
WEP uses the block cipher RC4 configured for operation with 40-bit keys.
True or False
False
Explanation:
WEP uses the RC4 stream cipher. With this we have a 24-bit IV and a 40-bit key.
WPA uses RC4 with TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) for encryption and has a ____-bit IV
value.
48
24
40
128
48
Explanation: