220-1102 Question 396
Single answerTemporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)A technician is troubleshooting a small office wireless network after replacing an old access point. Several legacy barcode scanners can connect only when the SSID security is set to WPA with TKIP, but newer laptops report much slower wireless speeds than expected after joining the same network. The office manager wants the scanners to keep working for now while improving performance and security for the laptops. Which action should the technician recommend?
- A
Keep the network on WPA with TKIP because TKIP provides the highest throughput for mixed client environments
- B
Change the wireless network to WEP so both old scanners and new laptops can use the same settings with better compatibility
- C
Create a separate wireless network for the legacy scanners using WPA/TKIP, and configure the main user network to use WPA2 or WPA3 with AES/CCMP
- D
Disable encryption on the wireless network temporarily so the laptops can use full 802.11n or newer speeds
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
TKIP is an older protocol introduced as part of WPA to improve on WEP without requiring all legacy hardware to be replaced immediately. In modern environments, TKIP is considered outdated and less secure than AES/CCMP used with WPA2 and WPA3. In addition to weaker security, TKIP can prevent clients from using higher-performance wireless modes commonly associated with 802.11n and newer standards. A practical recommendation is to isolate legacy devices that still require TKIP on their own SSID or VLAN while configuring the primary network for WPA2-PSK/WPA3 with AES/CCMP. This aligns with common vendor guidance and Wi-Fi security best practices: retain legacy support only where necessary, minimize exposure, and use stronger encryption for general user access.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. TKIP was designed as a transitional security protocol for older WPA deployments, not as the best option for performance. Using TKIP can limit wireless throughput on many networks because high-throughput modes associated with 802.11n and later are not intended to be used with TKIP. It also provides weaker security than modern AES-based protection.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. WEP is substantially less secure than TKIP and is deprecated due to well-known weaknesses. Although someone might choose this for compatibility, it would reduce security even further and is not a best-practice recommendation for a business network.
- C. Correct.
Correct. This approach preserves compatibility for devices that require WPA/TKIP while moving modern client devices to a more secure and higher-performing network using WPA2 or WPA3 with AES/CCMP. Segmenting legacy devices onto a separate SSID is a practical real-world solution that reduces risk and avoids slowing down modern clients.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Disabling encryption would expose business traffic and credentials to interception and would not be an acceptable fix. A technician might think this solves the speed issue, but it creates a major security problem and violates standard wireless security best practices.