Which technology operates at the Internet Protocol layer to secure IP communications by providing confidentiality, integrity, and authentication?

Which technology operates at the Internet Protocol layer to secure IP communications by providing confidentiality, integrity, and authentication?

• A. IPSec
• B. TLS
• C. SSH
• D. DNSSEC

Answer: (A)

Focusing on security at the IP layer means protecting the IP packets themselves as they traverse networks. IPSec operates at the Internet Protocol layer and is designed to secure IP communications by delivering confidentiality through encryption, integrity through data checks, and authentication of the communicating peers. It can run in tunnel mode, which secures an entire IP packet as it travels between endpoints or gateways, or in transport mode, which protects just the payload. In contrast, TLS and SSH secure data at higher layers (TLS for application data over TCP, SSH for remote access), so they don’t protect the IP packets themselves. DNSSEC provides data integrity and authenticity for DNS responses but does not encrypt data or secure IP traffic. Therefore, the technology that best fits the description is IPSec.

Focusing on security at the IP layer means protecting the IP packets themselves as they traverse networks. IPSec operates at the Internet Protocol layer and is designed to secure IP communications by delivering confidentiality through encryption, integrity through data checks, and authentication of the communicating peers. It can run in tunnel mode, which secures an entire IP packet as it travels between endpoints or gateways, or in transport mode, which protects just the payload. In contrast, TLS and SSH secure data at higher layers (TLS for application data over TCP, SSH for remote access), so they don’t protect the IP packets themselves. DNSSEC provides data integrity and authenticity for DNS responses but does not encrypt data or secure IP traffic. Therefore, the technology that best fits the description is IPSec.