Editing IPsec (section)

{{short description|Secure network protocol suite}}
{{Infobox technology standard
| title             = IPsec
| long_name         = Internet Protocol Security
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| native_name       = <!-- Name in local language. If more than one, separate using {{plain list}} -->
| native_name_lang  = <!-- ISO 639-1 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} inside native_name items instead -->
| status            = 
| year_started      = 1996
| first_published   = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
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| organization      = [[Internet Engineering Task Force]]
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| base_standards    = Various, see IETF documentation chapter
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}}

{{IPstack}}In [[computing]], '''Internet Protocol Security''' ('''IPsec''') is a secure network [[protocol suite]] that [[authentication|authenticates]] and [[encryption|encrypts]] [[packet (information technology)|packets]] of data to provide secure encrypted communication between two computers over an [[Internet Protocol]] network. It is used in [[virtual private network]]s (VPNs).

IPsec includes protocols for establishing [[mutual authentication]] between agents at the beginning of a [[Session (computer science)|session]] and negotiation of [[Key (cryptography)|cryptographic key]]s to use during the session. IPsec can protect data flows between a pair of hosts (''host-to-host''), between a pair of security gateways (''network-to-network''), or between a security gateway and a host (''network-to-host'').{{Ref RFC|2406}}
IPsec uses cryptographic security services to protect communications over [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) networks. It supports network-level peer authentication, [[data origin authentication]], [[data integrity]], data confidentiality ([[encryption]]), and protection from [[replay attack]]s.

The protocol was designed by a committee instead of being designed via a competition. Some experts criticized it, stating that it is complex and with a lot of options, which has a devastating effect on a security standard.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2003 |title=A Cryptographic Evaluation of IPsec |url=https://www.schneier.com/academic/archives/2003/12/a_cryptographic_eval.html |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Schneier on Security |language=en-US}}</ref> There is alleged interference of [[National Security Agency|NSA]] to weaken its security features.