In 802.11i pre-shared key mode, how is the initial key generated?

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Multiple Choice

In 802.11i pre-shared key mode, how is the initial key generated?

Explanation:
In WPA/WPA2-PSK, the secret that starts the authentication is the PMK, and it’s not generated randomly by the network. It’s derived from a user-provided secret (a passphrase) using a key-derivation process (PBKDF2) with the network’s SSID as the salt. This produces a 256-bit PMK that both the AP and the client use to derive the temporal keys during the 4-way handshake. Because the PMK comes from the passphrase, the initial key is described as being derived from a passphrase. The passphrase (not a random automatic generation) is what you configure on both ends.

In WPA/WPA2-PSK, the secret that starts the authentication is the PMK, and it’s not generated randomly by the network. It’s derived from a user-provided secret (a passphrase) using a key-derivation process (PBKDF2) with the network’s SSID as the salt. This produces a 256-bit PMK that both the AP and the client use to derive the temporal keys during the 4-way handshake. Because the PMK comes from the passphrase, the initial key is described as being derived from a passphrase. The passphrase (not a random automatic generation) is what you configure on both ends.

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