WLAN chipset supports Wi-Fi Protected Access

Fabless WLAN SoC company Synad has confirmed its support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).

Fabless WLAN SoC company Synad has confirmed its support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).

Products based on its Mercury dual band WLAN solution can now be submitted for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) certification.

WPA provides users with the confidence that their data will remain protected and that only authorised users can access the network.

WPA has been developed by a working group within the Wi-Fi Alliance in conjunction with the IEEE to overcome the vulnerabilities of Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), the traditional mechanism for interoperable security in Wi-Fi certified products.

WPA is a subset of the draft IEEE 802.11i standard that increases the level of data protection and access control.

Although existing Wi-Fi certified 802.11b products may support WPA using a software upgrade, Synad's architecture employs an advanced hardware encryption accelerator that ensures no compromise in data throughput for today's high speed a/g products.

"Effective security solutions are critical to drive the widespread adoption of wireless networking", said Mike Baker, CEO, Synad.

"Synad is pleased to support the Wi-Fi Alliance initiative in creating WPA as an open standard for security".

"Leading companies like Synad are committed to Wi-Fi Protected Access as an industry-wide security solution.

Their commitment to this interoperable initiative, along with many others in the industry, underscores the broad level of support for this security initiative", said Wi-Fi Alliance Chairman, Dennis Eaton.

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