Intersil supports Wi-Fi.

Intersil Corporation (Nasdaq:ISIL) has announced its support for the Wi-Fi Alliance's new standards-based solution for enhanced security called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Intersil has been actively involved with key industry leaders in developing a new standards-based security solution for the WLAN market and is the only supplier sampling a WPA security solution for both PC cards and access points. Production release is set for December 2002.

"WLAN Security is a paramount issue for enterprise IT decision-making and security has grown significantly more important for small business and home users," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager for Intersil's Wireless Products Group. "Intersil is pleased to be working with other industry leaders to help the Wi-Fi Alliance alleviate many of the security concerns facing WLAN users. We are committed to providing our customers with 100 percent standards-based reference designs that comply with the IEEE standards and carry the seal of approval from the FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance."

WPA utilizes improved encryption via the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) along with 802.1X as the framework for user authentication and encryption key distribution to provide enterprise grade security for Wi-Fi users. Home and small office users can use the pre-shared key mode of Wi-Fi Protected Access to get all the advantages of increased security without the need for authentication servers or the network infrastructure used in the enterprise environment.

Intersil Corporation is a global semiconductor leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless networking solutions. The acquisition of Elantec Semiconductor, Inc., expanded Intersil's product portfolios to address four fast growing markets--flat panel displays, optical storage (CD and DVD recordable), power management and wireless networking. Intersil brings added customer value in providing complete silicon, software and reference design solutions to new products that enhance the computing experience for people wherever they live, work or travel.