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The WEP standard is called "wired equivalent privacy"?

Why does it include "wired"? Does have it have to do with ethernet codes or something else?

Anders
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Tech-IO
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Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol that is designed to provide a wireless local area network (WLAN) with a level of security and privacy comparable to what is usually expected of a wired LAN.

Source

So as the name states, it's an equivalent of the wired network (LAN). It is supposed to provide the same level of security and privacy, but unfortunately it does not.

Tijme
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  • Privacy and Security means e.g. physical access restriction and the common used encryption standards like des/rsa etc or something else ? Thanks – Tech-IO Dec 19 '16 at 21:31
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    On a wired network it is usually assumed (sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly) that it is difficult for an external attacker to get physical access to the network whereas a wireless network can be easilly sniffed. So to achive an equivilent level of privacy/security to an unencrypted wired network a wireless network needs to be encrypted. – Peter Green Dec 19 '16 at 21:36
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The security protocol is called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) because it was initially designed to provide a wireless LAN with a level of security and privacy equivalent of a wired LAN.

However since it's inception it has not completely held up to the name which has resulted in WEP2, WEP+, WPA, WPA2, and other alternatives to be developed through it's lifetime.

Bacon Brad
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A very small amount of research is required to answer this.

It's Wired-Equivalent - a protocol designed to match the privacy of being on a wired network, whilst being wireless.

R. Murray
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