ISO rejects China's WAPI wireless security protocol

Even so, the Chinese government plans to continue to support WAPI

By Stephen Lawson

March 13, 2006 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - The International Standards Organization (ISO) last week rejected a security protocol that was backed by some Chinese representatives as an amendment to the group's wireless LAN standard.

The ISO turned down the Chinese technology, called the WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI), in voting to adopt the IEEE 802.11i security specification that was developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., according to a member of the IEEE 802.11 Working Group who asked not to be named because of working group rules.

The ISO, a network of standards institutes that overlooks specifications in a wide variety of fields, routinely adopts IEEE 802.11 standards and incorporates them into its body of specifications, the IEEE working group member said.

The Chinese government said that it would continue to support WAPI and that the rejection by the ISO would not affect use of WAPI in China, according to an online article by China's official Xinhua news service.

Votes at the ISO on adopting amendments to IEEE 802.11 standards normally aren't controversial, the working group member said.

"At least in 802.11, there's never been anyone who's brought in a proposal that wasn't developed in 802.11," he said.

The IEEE approved 802.11i in 2004. China's government at one time proposed forcing foreign companies to license WAPI but later dropped those plans.

A document from the IEEE 802.11 Working Group indicates that resistance to incorporating WAPI into an international wireless LAN standard has grown amid concerns about secrecy, namely the use of an undisclosed algorithm in the protocol.

Last week, 22 Chinese companies announced the formation of a group called the WAPI Industrial Union to promote adoption of WAPI. The group claimed its protocol offers better security than 802.11i.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

POLL RESULTS

Leading IT Pros Weigh In on Top IT Issues

Accelerate your knowledge of the IT world you inhabit by viewing the results of a series of polls taken by your IT peers. These polls of 100+ IT professionals each are available for full viewing. They cover key topics such as virtualization, processor performance, green IT, cloud computing and many others. Be a part of the buzz.

WHITE PAPER

For Best Results, Think Beyond the Box

Technology is complex. Keeping it running productively shouldn't be. To that end, you want to minimize the number of solutions needed in-house to simplify operations, maintenance, and support. Kodak offers a best-practices model. One company provides support for both scanner and software, for fast problem resolution without vendor finger-pointing. Download now!

WHITE PAPER

Accelerating the Path to Demand Intelligence with a Demand Signal Repository

Utilizing demand intelligence improves the precision of pricing, product assortments, channel/store placement, and promotion, which are all essential for sustainable revenue management performance. Learn more, download this free whitepaper today.

White Papers & Webcasts

2007 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report
Riverbed positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers. Analyzing strengths vs. cautions, Gartner helps organizations looking to acquire...

5 Best Practice Tips for Managing BlackBerry, iPhone, & Windows Mobile Devices
(Source: Zenprise) Mobile devices continue to proliferate across the enterprise, driven largely by the increase in worker productivity, efficiency, and flexibility they provide....

Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
Are your workers going increasingly mobile? Don't wait for their calls to slam Support when they experience poor application performance on the road....

Managing Laptops Outside the Office
(Source: Absolute Software) In this webinar, learn how you can reduce costs by tracking mobile computers no matter where they are located. Featuring...

IT Best Practices: To Support or Not Support Consumer Owned Smartphones
Companies have historically standardized on a single smartphone platform. Of late, IT is facing pressure to support the increasing influx of consumer owned...

What Are 'Free' Remote Support Tools Really Costing You?
(Source: LogMeIn) In this webinar from LogMeIn, discover how "next generation" remote support tools are optimized to provide advanced capabilities like scripting, system...

Lennox Goes Mobile and Increases Service Performance by 50%
This white paper explains how Lennox remedied major system malfunctions with Aeroprise Mobility for BMC Remedy Service Desk on smartphones....

IT Strategies for Remotely Supporting a Distributed Workforce
(Source: Citrix Online) Today's workforce is a distributed one - workers across industries are telecommuting, working out of satellite offices and connecting into...

Realizing Rapid ROI Through Mobility
Companies are reaping the benefits from mobile CRM, field service and sales force automation processes with the latest Research In Motion (RIM) offerings....

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

All White Papers | All Webcasts