Enhancing Data Security in WLAN Networks Using a Hybrid Cryptographic System

Abstract

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are one of the fastest growing technologies today. In recent years, WLANs have become one of the most adopted technologies. Nevertheless, wireless communications presents a huge security risk. As WLAN is susceptible to many attacks, encryption methods are the building block of WLAN security. However, it can be difficult to develop a practical system that provides high security but also has decent performance. The research proposes a new solution for a dual hybrid encryption method namely Advanced Encryption Standard with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (AES–ECC) and Advanced Encryption Standard with Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (AES–RSA). The paper compares two hybrid approaches to develop a unified framework. So, the key novelty is to combine the two approaches under the same framework. In the method proposed, symmetric encryption (AES) secures the sent data while asymmetric encryption (ECC or RSA) encrypts and securely sent an important secret key. The main contribution of this paper is to offers equal characterization of AES–ECC and the AES–RSA hybrids in WLAN environments as well as to provide an unbiased comparison of their results and security, resources usage and processing time. Experimental testing shows how effective and practical this framework is for high-level security and performance of WLAN digital communications.