Microsoft added support for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). WPA2 confirms that a PC’s wireless software is compatible with the IEEE 802.11i security standard. Building on the protections of the earlier Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) specification, the new Wi-Fi Alliance standard offers the advanced data encryption mandated by the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 specification, by which many government agencies and enterprises must abide. WPA2 also helps healthcare organizations meet the privacy requirements for personal medical information required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
In addition, the software update adds support for Wireless Provisioning Services Information Element (WPS IE). WPS IE allows wireless Internet service providers (ISPs) to migrate to secure Wi-Fi hot spots by enabling support for both unsecured and secured Wi-Fi networks on a single network infrastructure during the migration.
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