TLS VPN, IPsec VPN or Both?

About this interactive

Cryptographic building blocks are rarely used alone. Hashing, symmetric encryption and asymmetric cryptography are combined into protocols that solve a problem. TLS is one: it adds security to HTTP to make HTTPS, and it uses hashing, symmetric algorithms, asymmetric algorithms and public key infrastructure together. A VPN tunnel solves a different problem. Site A and Site B want to act as if they were directly connected, but the traffic between them crosses other networks that may not be secure. A virtual private network encrypts that traffic, so it is private even though it travels over shared networks. The lesson names two ways to build the tunnel. A TLS VPN works much like a secure website. The lesson places it at the application layer, a common way to class it; TLS itself runs on top of the transport layer, over TCP or, as DTLS, over UDP. An IPsec VPN operates at layer 3, the network layer: it is the IP layer's own security, and it sets up its keys with its own protocol, IKE. The lesson calls IPsec much more prevalent for VPNs, and it is the usual choice for linking sites; for remote users, TLS VPNs are common too. Do not sort by "which one carries every application's traffic". IPsec does, from layer 3. So does a full-tunnel TLS VPN client, such as OpenVPN or Cisco AnyConnect: it adds a virtual network adapter and carries every application's IP packets inside TLS or DTLS. Only the browser-portal kind of TLS VPN is limited to the browser. The real differences are where the protection sits (IP itself, or on top of the transport layer) and how the keys are set up (IKE, or a TLS handshake). They work quite differently, but they use the same concepts: hashes, symmetric algorithms and asymmetric algorithms. In both, a Diffie-Hellman key exchange (asymmetric cryptography) normally agrees the keys, and the bulk of the traffic is encrypted with fast symmetric encryption.

What you'll learn

Distinguish a TLS VPN tunnel, which works on top of the transport layer much like a secure website, from an IPsec VPN tunnel, which is the IP layer's own security at layer 3, sets up its keys with IKE, and is the usual choice for linking sites
Recognize what both tunnel types share: each encrypts traffic crossing untrusted networks, and each is built from the same primitives (hashing, symmetric and asymmetric algorithms), with symmetric encryption carrying the bulk of the traffic

Aligned to

Cisco CCNA

5.5 Describe IPsec remote access and site-to-site VPNs.

CompTIA Network+

4.1 Explain the importance of basic network security concepts.

CompTIA Security+

3.1 Compare and contrast security implications of different architecture models.

1.4 Explain the importance of using appropriate cryptographic solutions.

ISC2 CISSP

4.3 Implement secure communication channels according to design

3.6 Select and determine cryptographic solutions

ISC2 CC

4.1 Understand network security

5.1 Understand data security

CompTIA SecurityX

2.3 Given a scenario, implement appropriate cryptographic protocols and algorithms.

NIST 800-53

SC-13 Cryptographic Protection

Key terms

Virtual Private Network: A technology that creates a secure, encrypted tunnel over a public network to protect data in transit.
TLS VPN: A VPN tunnel that operates at the application layer using the TLS protocol to encrypt traffic, commonly used for remote user access via a web browser.
IPsec: A suite of protocols that authenticates and encrypts IP packets to provide secure communication over a network.
Site-to-Site VPN: A VPN configuration that connects two fixed network locations through an encrypted tunnel over the internet, allowing them to communicate as a single network.
Network Layer: Layer 3 of the OSI model, responsible for logical addressing and routing data packets between networks.
Transport Layer Security: A cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over a network, successor to SSL.
Symmetric Encryption: An encryption method that uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.
Asymmetric Encryption: An encryption method that uses a public key to encrypt data and a private key to decrypt it.
Hash Function: A mathematical algorithm that converts input data of any size into a fixed-size output value used to verify data integrity.
Key Exchange: A method used to securely share cryptographic keys between parties over an insecure channel.

Topics

Virtual Private Network Tls Vpn Ipsec Interactive Categorize

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