The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released security standards that provide a security framework for Wi-Fi networks used for roaming and in public, enterprise, and environments.
The Wi-Fi Security Guidelines aim to eliminate what WBA said are inconsistent or fragmented security practices that enable rogue access points, credential theft, privacy breaches, and signaling attacks.
The guidelines will reduce exposure to these threats, improve user trust, simplify interoperability across networks and partners, and create more predictable security outcomes and greater confidence when deploying networks, the WBA says.
The Wi-Fi Security Guidelines are intended to:
- Prevent connections to rogue and fake networks
- Protect data over the air
- Preserve user identity and privacy without breaking compliance
- Secure credentials end-to-end
- Harden the entire access network
- Secure authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) and roaming signaling
- Add layer-2 protections against lateral attacks
- Enforce security through federation and governance
“Today, Wi-Fi underpins critical connectivity for consumers, enterprises and IoT at global scale,” WBA president and CEO Tiago Rodrigues said in a press release about the Wi-Fi Security Guidelines. “These guidelines show how proven standards and best practices can be applied consistently to deliver secure, privacy-preserving, and interoperable Wi-Fi experiences. By aligning security across devices and networks, Wi-Fi achieves parity with cellular in security capability and confidence.”
Wi-Fi is increasingly central to corporate plans. “The WBA Industry Report 2026” featured survey findings that speak to the increasing centrality of Wi-Fi. The report found that 38% of respondents plan (or planned) to roll out Wi-Fi 7 in 2025 or this year. Sixty-two percent of respondents have grown more confident in Wi-Fi during the past year.
The use of Wi-Fi for expansive and mission-critical tasks will drive new management approaches. Another WBA report, released in February, found that rule-based management must give way to management by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
The report, entitled “AI/ML for Wi-Fi: Enabling Scalable, Intelligent Wi-Fi Ecosystems,” provides the rationale for replacing reactivity troubleshooting with predictive, proactive, and self-optimizing network operations.
