Wireless Network Security: A Review Of Threats, Security Protocols From Wep To Wpa3, And Ai-Assisted Intrusion Detection
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile networks provide convenient connectivity without cables, but because signals travel through the air they are exposed to eavesdropping, unauthorized access, spoofing, denial-of-service and man-in-the-middle attacks. This paper reviews wireless network security. It analyses the main threats and traces the evolution of Wi-Fi security protocols: the cryptographic failures of Wired Equivalent Privacy, the improvements of Wi-Fi Protected Access and WPA2 with IEEE 802.11i, attacks such as key reinstallation that exposed flaws in WPA2's handshake, and the stronger but still scrutinized WPA3 with simultaneous authentication of equals. Weaknesses in Bluetooth key negotiation and in LTE link layers are also examined. Defensive measures, including strong passphrases, enterprise authentication with 802.1X, network segmentation, firewalls, firmware updates and wireless intrusion detection using machine learning on public datasets, are reviewed. A five-layer wireless security architecture comprising device hardening, secure association, encrypted transport, monitoring and incident response is proposed, along with research gaps, objectives, a comparison of protocols and challenges such as legacy devices, IoT constraints and user behaviour. The review concludes that layered defence with modern protocols and continuous monitoring is essential.
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Networks and Communications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225749999
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