Open System Authentication (OSA)
What is Open System Authentication (OSA)?
Open System Authentication (OSA) is a process by which a computer can gain access to a wireless
network that uses the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
protocol. With OSA, a computer equipped with a wireless modem can
access any WEP network and
receive files that are not encrypted.
For OSA to work, the service set identifier (SSID) of
the computer should match the SSID of the wireless access point. The
SSID is a sequence of characters that uniquely names a wireless local area network (WLAN). The process
occurs in three steps. First, the computer sends a request for authentication
to the access point. Then the access point generates an authentication code, usually at random,
intended for use only during that session. Finally, the computer
accepts the authentication code and becomes part of the network as long as the session continues
and the computer remains within range of the original access point.
If it is necessary to exchange encrypted data between a WEP network access point and a
wireless-equipped computer, a stronger authentication process called Shared Key Authentication (SKA)
is required.
This was last updated in September 2008
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