The implementation of a Chinese security standard for
wireless networking could undermine efforts to develop a global
standard for wireless Lans and drive up the cost of networking
equipment for end users, warned a senior executive at the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The Standardisation Administration of China (SAC) announced the
adoption of China's WLan standard, called GB15629.11-2003, in
May.
WLan equipment sold in China had to comply with the standard
from 1 December. A transition period has, however, been granted
that extends the compliance deadline for some WLan products until
1 June.
The Chinese WLan standard is similar in many ways to IEEE's
802.11 wireless networking standard - commonly known as Wireless
Fidelity or Wi-Fi - but it has one crucial difference: it uses a
different security protocol, called WLan Authentication and Privacy
Infrastructure (WAPI). WAPI is not part of the 802.11 standard,
which relies instead on Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).
The existence of two different standards for WLans, one for
China and one for the rest of the world, could cause the market for
wireless networking equipment to splinter in two, according to Paul
Nikolich, chairman of the IEEE 802 local and metropolitan area
network standards committee
"We believe that mandatory implementation of the WAPI protocols
would unnecessarily fracture the world market for WLan products,"
Nikolich told SAC chairman Li Zhonghai and Wang Xudong, China's
minister of information industry.
"We are concerned that mandatory use of the standard would
prohibit the use of 802.11 standard products and thereby limit
choice and increase costs to users," he wrote.
China's adoption of WAPI is meant to shore up the security of
wireless networks, a concern shared by IEEE. WEP can be easily
broken and this has prompted the development of a new IEEE
standard, 802.11i, to plug security holes that it leaves open.
While work on 802.11i continues, the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry
group established to certify the interoperability of products based
on 802.11, has pushed equipment suppliers to adopt an improved
security technology called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) as a
stop-gap measure. WPA is intended to serve as a security
enhancement for 802.11 until the adoption of 802.11i and is
designed to be forward compatible with 802.11i.
Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying the interoperability of
WPA-based WLan equipment in April and plans to make the technology
mandatory for interoperability certification by the end of this
year.
Nikolich acknowledged that 802.11 security needs to be improved
and offered to engage Chinese authorities on this subject.
"We recognise that 802.11 security is not optimal and have been
working to improve it through the 802.11i project," he said. "We
would like to better understand your concerns and see if they can
be met through the existing 802.11i draft standard."
A proposed meeting between the IEEE and Chinese administration
is likely to be scheduled to coincide with a meeting of the IEEE
802.16 Working Group on broadband wireless access in May.
"We're trying to work closely with the Chinese," said Stuart
Kerry, chairman of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Lan Working Group,
adding that IEEE is committed to 802.11i.
"We believe that 802.11 is an international standard and that
802.11i is what the world wants," Kerry said.
However, IEEE is open to the possibility of incorporating WAPI
into 802.11 to avoid splitting the market for WLan products in two,
according to Kerry. "It is complementary and we are investigating
if we can encompass it as an amendment to 802.11."
Sumner Lemon writes for IDG News Service