A Cryptographic Tour of the IPsec Standards

Kenneth G.  Paterson

Paper 2006/097

A Cryptographic Tour of the IPsec Standards

Kenneth G. Paterson

Abstract

In this article, we provide an overview of cryptography and cryptographic key management as they are specified in IPsec, a popular suite of standards for providing communications security and network access control for Internet communications. We focus on the latest generation of the IPsec standards, recently published as Request for Comments 4301–4309 by the Internet Engineering Task Force, and how they have evolved from earlier versions of the standards.

Note: Cryptography is only one part of the IPsec puzzle. However, getting the cryptography right is vital in ensuring that IPsec delivers the security expected of it. We hope that this article will open up the new family of IPsec RFCs to a wider range of cryptographic researchers, encouraging them to work in a fascinating area located at the boundary between theory and practice.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Applications
Publication info: Published elsewhere. To appear in "Information Security Technical Report", Elsevier
Keywords: IPsec network security cryptography key management
Contact author(s): kenny paterson @ rhul ac uk
History: 2006-04-18: revised; 2006-03-12: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2006/097
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2006/097,
      author = {Kenneth G.  Paterson},
      title = {A Cryptographic Tour of the {IPsec} Standards},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2006/097},
      year = {2006},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2006/097}
}