Question

Difficulty: HardWireless Security Standards and Encryption Protocols

A network security architect is designing a wireless infrastructure for a regional corporate facility. Organizational compliance rules require that every employee authenticate using individual Active Directory domain credentials managed through a centralized authentication server, while simultaneously utilizing modern AES-based cipher suites for confidentiality. Which wireless security standard and authentication mechanism combination fulfills all compliance requirements?

  1. WPA3-Enterprise utilizing 802.1X authentication with a RADIUS server and AES-CCMP/GCMP encryptionAnswer
  2. B
    WPA3-Personal utilizing Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) with unique passphrases distributed per employee
  3. C
    WPA3-Enterprise utilizing TACACS+ authentication to negotiate 802.1X user credentials and wireless frame payload encryption
  4. D
    WPA2-Enterprise configured with static Pre-Shared Keys (PSK) and SNMPv2c to automate individual user key assignment

Answer

WPA3-Enterprise utilizing 802.1X authentication with a RADIUS server and AES-CCMP/GCMP encryption
The scenario requires centralized, per-user credential authentication against Active Directory along with modern AES encryption. WPA3-Enterprise uses 802.1X authentication, which forwards Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) messages to a RADIUS server for identity verification, while enforcing strong AES-CCMP or GCMP encryption for data protection.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze authentication requirements from the scenario
Individual employee credential authentication linked to Active Directory requires an Enterprise deployment leveraging 802.1X port-based access control rather than pre-shared keys.
Personal modes (PSK or SAE) use shared secret passphrases rather than centralized per-user authentication.
2
Evaluate authentication protocol suitability
RADIUS is the standard protocol used with 802.1X for wireless client authentication, whereas TACACS+ is primarily used for device administration AAA.
RADIUS integrates natively with 802.1X EAP frameworks to communicate with backend directories like Active Directory.
3
Verify encryption suite compliance
WPA3-Enterprise mandates robust AES-based encryption mechanisms (such as CCMP-128 or GCMP-256) to ensure confidentiality and integrity.
Combining WPA3-Enterprise, 802.1X RADIUS authentication, and modern AES ciphers meets all stated security and compliance directives.

Key Concept

Wireless Enterprise Authentication and Encryption Standards
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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