Intersil Secures WiFi

MILPITAS, Calif. -- Intersil Corporation (Nasdaq:ISIL - News), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless networking solutions, today announced a new Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) software upgrade for current PRISM-based Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) client and access point products. WPA is a new industry standard security solution that provides a significant step up from the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) security built into 802.11 products today. WPA uses the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol to provide improved over-the-air encryption of wireless data. 802.1X is used by WPA to provide a framework for robust user authentication and dynamic generation and distribution of encryption keys to computers on the network. In the enterprise, WPA is used with an authentication server to provide a centralized, manageable and scaleable security solution suitable for hundreds or thousands of users. In home and small office networks WPA can be used in a pre-shared key mode to provide the same security benefits without the need for an authentication server. "Intersil was first to demonstrate a complete WPA-enabled access point and client solution supporting the WPA standard," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager for Intersil's Wireless Networking Products Group. "We are committed to providing our customers with early access to standards-based software and hardware solutions. Intersil's leadership role in providing early support for WPA is just one more example of our commitment to providing our customers with a total solution" Intersil Corp.