Which wireless protocol replaces PSK with SAE and resists offline dictionary attacks?
Which wireless security protocol replaces the personal pre-shared key (PSK) authentication with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) and is therefore resistant to offline dictionary attacks?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
The exam tests whether you can map SAE/Dragonfly to the correct WPA3 mode, and the trap is confusing WPA2-Enterprise's 802.1X authentication with WPA3-Personal's SAE.
WPA3-Personal replaces the WPA2 pre-shared key handshake with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), the Dragonfly key exchange, which defeats offline dictionary attacks. This page confirms why option C is the correct answer for exam 312-50v12.
Candidates pick WPA2-Enterprise because it sounds more secure, but Enterprise uses 802.1X/EAP and RADIUS rather than SAE, and the question specifically asks about replacing PSK authentication.
Community Discussion (3 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
WPA3-Personal, introduced by the Wi-Fi Alliance, replaces the WPA2-Personal PSK four-way handshake with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), also called the Dragonfly key exchange. SAE performs a password-authenticated key agreement that never exposes a material usable for an offline dictionary attack, so an attacker who captures the handshake cannot brute-force the passphrase offline. That is exactly the capability described in the question, which asks which protocol replaces PSK with SAE and is resistant to offline dictionary attacks. Option C is therefore the correct answer and matches the community's unanimous selection.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
WPA2-Enterprise (B) still uses the 802.1X/EAP framework with a RADIUS server and does not use SAE at all, so it neither replaces PSK in the way described nor is it the Personal-mode successor. Bluetooth (A) is a short-range personal area network technology with its own pairing and legacy pairing models, not a Wi-Fi security protocol built on SAE. ZigBee (D) is a low-power IoT mesh standard using its own trust-center and link-key model, again unrelated to SAE or WPA3. Only WPA3-Personal fits both halves of the question: the SAE replacement and offline-dictionary resistance.Community Comment Notes
As shaody explains, WPA3-Personal "is mainly used to deliver password-based authentication using the SAE protocol, also known as Dragonfly Key Exchange." insaniunt reaches the same conclusion, noting the SAE-based protection belongs to the WPA3 standard and therefore points to option C. LordXander adds the shorthand reminder that SAE is also called Dragonfly, which is the key term to recognize on the exam. The comments are consistent with the official Wi-Fi Alliance specification and reinforce that no other option describes SAE.Official Reference
Exam Strategy
When a question mentions SAE or Dragonfly, immediately link it to WPA3-Personal and password-based authentication. Read the mode carefully: Enterprise answers involve 802.1X/EAP and RADIUS, while Personal answers involve PSK (WPA2) or SAE (WPA3).
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is WPA2-Enterprise not the answer if it is more secure than PSK?
WPA2-Enterprise uses 802.1X/EAP with a RADIUS server, not SAE, so it does not fit the question's description of replacing PSK authentication with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals.
What does Dragonfly refer to in the WPA3-Personal context?
Dragonfly is the alternate name for the SAE key exchange used by WPA3-Personal, which performs a password-authenticated handshake that cannot be attacked offline.