Generic Interface Specification
Generic Interface Specification ( GIS ) is an authentication method that was launched by the company iPass in early 2002.
GIS is used with public iPass hotspots and can also be used with so-called on-campus WLANs . The user data is transmitted to the provider's central WLAN gateway using the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer, see Transport Layer Security ) encryption protocol . From there, the authentication data over SSL to the authentication database managed by the customer, d. H. the customer himself authenticates his employees, not the WLAN provider. When the WLAN provider receives an accept response from the customer's AAA server from the RADIUS server , billing starts.
GIS does not encrypt the user data, but enables secure authentication at the WLAN hotspot. The GIS Smart Client (e.g. iPassConnect) supports SSL without using a browser. For corporate customers, the user data is usually encrypted by a VPN client.
GIS is often found in commercial wireless LANs, as 802.1X cannot yet be used there.