Opportunistic Wireless Encryption

Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE) is a Wi-Fi standard which ensures that communication between a public hotspot and end devices is protected from other end devices. In contrast to conventional public hotspots, the data is transmitted in encrypted form. OWE was introduced by the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2018 as part of the Wi-Fi Certified Enhanced Open program.^[1]

OWE is an extension to IEEE 802.11.^[2] It is an encryption technique similar to that of Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) and is specified by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in RFC 8110 with devices certified as Wi-Fi Certified Enhanced Open by the Wi-Fi Alliance.^[3][4]

With a network without a password, each WPA3 device that connects to it will still have its connection encrypted. OWE does encryption, not authentication; evil twin attack protection requires either WPA3-Personal or WPA3-Enterprise.^[5]

Unlike conventional Wi-Fi, it provides "Individualized Data Protection" such that data traffic between a client and access point is "individualized." Other clients can still sniff and record this traffic, but they can't decrypt it.

"OWE is a means of adding encryption to open networks...OWE only protects against passive attacks."^[6]

Opportunistic Wireless Encryption is a Wi-Fi Enhanced Open authentication mode, as a part of Wi-Fi Protected Access 3.^[7] OWE performs an unauthenticated Diffie–Hellman (DH) key exchange at association time.^[7]

For the wireless client to know the WLAN supports OWE, it must receive a Probe Response from the wireless access point in response to its Probe Request. OWE still uses 802.11 Open System Authentication, then the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeralexchange occurs in the Association process. After Association is successful the 4-way handshake can occur, and from then on data frames are encrypted.^[8]

• Wi-Fi Protected Access

• "مواصفات التشفير اللاسلكي الانتهازي الإصدار 1.0" . www.wi-fi.org | تحالف واي فاي .