WPA3 is Here, Newest Wi-Fi Protocol Update in 14 Years

The year is 2004. George W. Bush is president. The Patriots win Super Bowl XXXVIII. Men's fashion is, well, ridiculous.

Of course, the most notable of all these events was the creation of the WPA2 security protocol. You all remember that day, right? Right? Okay maybe not, but that shouldn't take away the impact it had on progressing the internet, which, according to Pew Research, 55% of U.S. adults had access to broadband at home or at work.

That's kind of a big deal and it makes security that more serious. In fact, the industry still stresses the importance of network security, underscored by a handful of hacks, leaks, and viruses that made headlines over the past decade.

All that to say, we are finally ready for a new security protocol. Aptly named WPA3, this is the first security protocol update since 2004 and it is bringing a ton of new features. The biggest improvement is a resistance to brute force password guessing and limits to what data hackers can see once they are in. This is accomplished by protecting offline data and forcing connecting devices to make login attempts against a live network instead of an offline point. That means they need to be physically present and WPA3 can protect against too many attempts. The second biggest key point is forward secrecy. In a nutshell, it means that even when an intruder gets access to the network, they can only see current data, not data stored from past events or logs.

The Wi-Fi Alliance is working tirelessly to make this a seamless effort for consumers, making sure it's business as usual. Ideally, WPA2 and WPA3 devices will still work together effortlessly, but there will probably be a few SNAFU's early on.

They note that the roll-out won't be an overnight ordeal, in fact, it may take a few long years before we see it come to certified devices. That's also dependant on vendors getting their devices certified and up to date as well.

Wi-Fi Alliance expects WPA3 to ramp up over the next year, and be a pivotal piece of the 802.11ax generation currently in place. Expect mass consumer adoption by the end of 2019 and a ton of enterprise headaches for the next few years after that.

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