IEEE

A standards body responsible for protocols such as 802.1X and 802.11.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a standards organization whose specifications define many networking technologies relevant to security, including 802.11 for wireless LANs and 802.1X for port based network access control. Its standards create the interoperable foundation that security controls build upon, such as authenticating devices before granting network access. It matters because exam questions reference these numbers directly. A common point of confusion is mixing up the families: 802.11 covers Wi-Fi, while 802.1X covers authenticated access to wired and wireless ports.