Wireless Authentication Protocols

LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol)

a Cisco proprietary alternative to TKIP for WPA. Developed to address deficiencies in TKIP before the 802.11i/WPA2 system was ratified as a standard

PEAP (Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol)

encapsulates EAP methods within a TLS tunnel that provides authentication and potentially encryption

EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol)

an authentication framework. Allows for new authentication technologies to be compatible with existing wireless or point-to-point connection technologies. 802.1x authentication relies on EAP

EAP-FAST

developed by Cisco, is used in wireless networks and point-to-point connections to perform session authentication. It replaced LEAP, which was insecure

EAP-TLS

a secure version of wireless authentication that requires X.509 certificates. Involves 3 parties: the supplicant (user’s device), the authenticator (switch or controller), and the authentication server (RADIUS server)

EAP-TTLS

uses two phases; the first is to set up a secure session with the server, by creating a tunnel, utilizing certificates that are seamless to the client. Second phase uses a protocol like MS-CHAP to complete the session. Designed to connect older legacy systems