What is WEP Encryption?

WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP is used to encrypt and decrypt data signals that transmit between WLAN devices. WEP is an optional IEEE 802.11 feature that prevents disclosure and modification of packets in transit and also provides access control for the use of the network. WEP makes a WLAN link as secure as a wired link. As the standard specifies, WEP uses the RC4 algorithm with a 40-bit or 104-bit key. RC4 is a symmetric algorithm because RC4 uses the same key for the encryption and the decryption of data. When WEP is enabled, each radio "station" has a key. The key is used to scramble the data before transmission of the data through the airwaves. If a station receives a packet that is not scrambled with the appropriate key, the station discards the packet and never delivers such a packet to the host.