IRVINE, Calif. ? June 5, 2003 ? Linksys?, a division of Cisco Systems Inc., announces Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is now available for these top-selling wireless networking products:

Wireless-G PC Card (WPC54G)
Wireless-B PC Card (WPC11 v.3)
For current Linksys wireless users, WPA is available for these products via a firmware upgrade posted on the Linksys website at: http://www.linksys.com/download/. The firmware will also be integrated into new production units so when these products hit retail and distribution channels, customers will not need to download the firmware. The WPA feature has been Wi-Fi Certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Linksys will announce the support of WPA in other Linksys products at the time of availability.

WPA provides enhanced, interoperable security that increases the level of data protection and access control for wireless LANs. WPA keeps unwanted users from accessing a network without the proper permission and password. It is also more robust than the current security scheme, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), which provides basic protection for home networks and limited protection on public networks and the Internet. WPA adds the forward compatibility with IEEE?s upcoming 802.11i standard, through a specially designed mode using pre-shared keys. Each user on the network will have a unique password that will need to be entered manually to activate WPA.

It is also dynamic, which means the key will be changed periodically to prevent intruders into the network. In this regard, WPA is substantially different from WEP, which uses only one encryption key. This special mode in WPA also eliminates the process of having to manually type the 40, 60 or 128-bit encryption keys, which is required when using the current WEP security feature.