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Hi Marc:

All four IEEE 802.11 cipher suites are both protocols and algorithms.

"3.21 cipher suite: A set of one or more algorithms, designed to provide data confidentiality, data authenticity or integrity, and/or replay protection."

IEEE 802.11 does not define "algorithm", "cipher", or "protocol". RC4 is a stream cipher. AES is a block cipher. Both are also referred to as "encryption algorithms." Neither is a "cipher suite", a term precisely defined by IEEE 802.11 as well as the four choices CCMP, TKIP, WEP-104, and WEP-40.

I hope this helps. Thanks. /criss