Which encryption algorithm does WEP use?

WEP, or Wired Equivalent Privacy, employs the RC4 encryption algorithm to secure data in wireless networks. RC4 is a stream cipher that operates on byte data, allowing WEP to encrypt each byte of the data stream as it is transmitted. This choice was made due to RC4's simplicity and speed, which were particularly useful in the early days of wireless networking when processing power in devices was limited.

Despite its initial widespread adoption, WEP and RC4 have since been found to have significant vulnerabilities, including weaknesses that allow attackers to crack the encryption relatively easily, thereby compromising the security of the networks using WEP. The security community has since moved to more robust encryption standards like WPA and WPA2, which utilize more secure algorithms such as AES, while acknowledging that WEP and RC4 are inadequate for protecting modern wireless communications.