The original 802.11 core security protocol, ________, was deeply flawed.

• A. 802.11i
• B. WPA
• C. WEP
• D. None of the above.

Answer: (C)

WEP is the one that failed badly because it relies on RC4 with a short initialization vector and a weak integrity check. The 24-bit IV is small, so in real networks IVs repeat quickly. When the same IV and key are reused, the same keystream is used to encrypt different packets, making it possible to compare ciphertexts and recover information about the plaintext or even reveal the key with enough captured traffic. On top of that, the integrity protection is weak: it uses a CRC-32, which is not a cryptographic authentication tag, so attackers can modify data and craft new frames that look valid, or tamper with messages without detection. These flaws together mean confidentiality and integrity aren’t properly protected.

WPA and 802.11i were designed to address these issues. WPA introduced stronger per-packet key handling and integrity checks (and, in later implementations, TKIP), while 802.11i (often called WPA2) uses AES-based CCMP for robust confidentiality and authentication. None of the other options describe the original protocol that had these critical weaknesses.