We’re not one to delve too deep into the various Wi-Fi security profiles out there. For one, we’re speaking out of league and can’t offer pros/cons to each one and two, it’s just not something we hear a lot of from our readers. But there are a few of you out there and for them, certain protocols like EAP-TLS is important.
The good news is that Microsoft is conscious of the need for EAP-TLS for Wi-Fi security (especially important for enterprise) and it looks like it will come to Windows Phone at some point, but it’s not high on their priority list...
In a Twitter direct message with a customer, Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore revealed the info in an exchange on the topic noting that the lack of EAP-TLS is “something we are aware of and following up on. Not in the very near future but likely coming at some point.”
The fact of the matter is Microsoft does have a list of priorities for Windows Phone where some things are higher than others. For instance, we have it on good accord that better podcast support is on that list but it’s not very high. That doesn’t mean Microsoft doesn’t want to do it it just means they have to triage what they can and cannot do in a realistic time frame for releases. As a consumer, none of that is directly important—you just want “stuff” and you want all of it. But being a program manager, these are the tough decisions that need to be made.
We’re not convinced from a basic consumer standpoint that EAP-TLS support is more important than say a proper notification hub. But we certainly see why people would rank it high on their own list.
For those of you who don’t know about EAP-TLS (we don’t blame you), it’s considered to be one of the most secure Wi-Fi connection protocols out there. It’s not widely deployed anymore due to the client-side certificate (and being slightly more complicated) but it is universally supported by all wireless LAN manufactures. So being universally available and considered the strongest security out there, we can see why folks would want it on their Windows Phone.
Will it make a difference in the end to straight up consumer sales? We’re not too sure but here’s hoping that it comes at some point.
Source: Rajesh R. (Twitter)
