Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol designed to protect a wireless local area network that encrypts data transmitted across it.
The protocol aims to create a level of security for wireless networks equivalent to that of wired networks.
Wired networks are usually protected by certain physical security benefits, which makes their security generally better than wireless networks. Since devices trying to access the network need to physically gain access to network cables, for example, there is no danger of an attacker accessing a wired LAN from outside.