A technician has been asked to set up a new wireless router with the best possible security. Which of the following should the technician implement?

WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3) is the latest and most secure wireless security standard certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It provides the "best possible security" by introducing robust authentication through Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), which replaces the Pre-Shared Key (PSK) method of WPA2, making it resilient to offline dictionary attacks. It also mandates Protected Management Frames (PMF) to protect against deauthentication and disassociation attacks. For enterprise networks, WPA3 offers stronger 192-bit cryptographic strength, aligning with the Commercial National Security Algorithm (CNSA) Suite.

A. WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) is a convenience feature for easily connecting devices, not a security protocol itself. It has known vulnerabilities and is often recommended to be disabled.
B. TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) is an outdated encryption protocol used with the original WPA standard. It is no longer considered secure and has been deprecated.
D. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is a legacy security protocol with significant, well-documented cryptographic weaknesses that allow it to be compromised in minutes.

1. Wi-Fi Alliance. (2023). WPA3™ Security. Retrieved from the official Wi-Fi Alliance website. The document states, "WPA3™ is the next generation of Wi-Fi security, bringing new capabilities to protect personal and enterprise networks." It details the advantages of WPA3, including protection from dictionary attacks and stronger encryption.

2. IEEE Std 802.11™-2020. (2021). IEEE Standard for Information Technology--Telecommunications and Information Exchange between Systems Local and Metropolitan Area Networks--Specific Requirements - Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. Section 12.4, "SAE authentication," describes the Simultaneous Authentication of Equals protocol, which is a foundational element of WPA3's superior security over previous standards.

3. National Security Agency (NSA) & Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). (September 2021). Selecting and Hardening Remote Access VPN Solutions (CSI-001R-21). Page 11, Section 3.3, "Wireless," recommends that "WPA3 Enterprise should be used for all wireless connections." This guidance from a national security authority underscores WPA3 as the best practice for security.