INTRODUCTION

The Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol has been proven to have several security weaknesses. Hence there is a need for an enhancement of the RC4 algorithm that is used in WEP. The mechanism known as the Fake Character Insertion and Compression Technique (FCICT) is used for the enhancement of the RC4 algorithm and it consists of two parts. In the first part, characters are inserted subject to the satisfaction of a key and data dependent condition. The second part compresses the text either by the standard Huffman Compression algorithm, or by a simpler replacement technique using adjacent characters of the message.

The FCICT has been introduced as an additional layer to the RC4 in order to strengthen its security. An analysis of the algorithm from the view of specific attacks might provide the necessary insight to enhance the scheme. The RC4 has wide applications in wireless networks. In a world, where computational speed and power is as important a factor as security, FCICT (with its negligible overheard) is a step towards achieving greater security without compromising on efficiency.