Wired Equivalent Privacy, provides 64-bit or 128-bit Wi-Fi encryption. It is an optional security mechanism defined by the IEEE 802.11 committee and implemented in most WLAN products. It is an encryption system that encrypts data on wireless networks that can only be read by authorized users with the correct decryption key. Since radio-based systems present completely different security issues than those of their "wired" counterpart, WEP can only serve to protect the network from casual access.

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