China lays down a standards marker

Abstract

WiFi equipment makers will have to adhere to a locally developed standard to compete in China. The controversial decision in late December 2003 to mandate a proprietary encryption scheme for wireless LANs (WLAN) for use within its borders-that is incompatible with the existing IEEE 802.11 specifications-has already ruffled a few feathers. Worryingly, neither is support for the scheme included in the upcoming security specifications such as WiFi-Protected Access (WPA), or 802.11i, developed and administered by industry groups such as the IEEE and the WiFi Alliance. Technical details of the so-called Wired Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI), part of China's WiFi standard, are just starting to emerge. The announcement by the Standardisation Administration of China caught much of the WiFi industry off guard. It has aroused concerns-perhaps even paranoia-among Western suppliers that the edict would seriously disadvantage them from entering the fast growing Chinese market for WLAN gear. And by implying that it needed to develop its own encryption algorithm because of `flaws' in the present version of 802.11 a and b, the Chinese have, in effect, reopened the debate about WiFi security.