Guidelines for Securing Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Murugiah Souppaya Karen Scarfone Special Publication 800 -153 NIST Special Public ation 800 -153 Guidelines for Securing Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Tec hnology Murugiah So uppaya Karen Scarfone C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y Computer Security Division Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899 -8930 February 2012 U.S. Department of Commerce John Bryson , Secretary National Institute of Stan dards and Technology Patrick D. Gallagher, Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and Director GUIDELINES FOR SECURING WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (WLAN S) iii Reports on Computer Systems Technology The Information Technology Laboratory ( ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing tec hnical leadership for the nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL d evelops tests, test methods, reference data, pr oof of concept implementations, and technical analysis to advance the deve lopment and productive use of information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, administrative, and management standards and guidelines f or the cost -effective security and privacy of sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer sy stems. This Special Publication 800 -series reports on ITL’s research, guidance, and outreach e fforts in computer security and its collaborative activitie s with industry, government, and ac ademic organizations. Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendatio n or endorsement by the National Institute of Sta ndards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the pu rpose. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publi cation 800 -153 24 pages ( Feb. 201 2) GUIDELINES FOR SECURING WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (WLAN S) iv Acknowledgments The authors, Murugiah Souppaya of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Karen Scarfone of Scarfone Cybersecurity, wish to thank their colleagues who reviewed drafts of this document and contributed to its technical content, particularly Sheila Frankel, Arnold Johnson , and Terry Hahn of NIST , and representatives from the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence . Trademark Information All trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective organizations. GUIDELINES FOR SECURING WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (WLAN S) v Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. vi 1. Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 1 1.1 Authority ................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 1 1.2 Purpose and Scope ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 1 1.3 Audience ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 1 1.4 Document Structure ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 1 2. WLAN Security Configuration ..........................