Which of the following security controls is standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as the primary network layer protection mechanism?

Question

Options

• AInternet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol
• BSMIME
• CInternet Protocol Security (IPSec)
• DSecure Socket Layer (SSL)

• A
  3% (1)
• C
  94% (29)
• D
  3% (1)

Explanation

IPSec (C) is correct because it was specifically standardized by the IETF (RFC 4301 and related RFCs) as the primary security framework operating at the network layer (Layer 3) of the OSI model, providing authentication, integrity, and encryption for all IP traffic transparently to applications.

• IKE (A) is wrong because IKE is actually a component of the IPSec framework - it handles key negotiation and session establishment, but is not itself the overarching network-layer protection standard.
• S/MIME (B) operates at the application layer, securing email message content specifically, not network-layer traffic.
• SSL (D) operates at the transport layer (between Layer 4 and Layer 7), securing specific application sessions (like HTTPS), not all IP-level traffic.

Memory tip: Think "IPSec = IP-level Security" - the name literally tells you it secures at the IP (network) layer, which is exactly what IETF designed it for. If a question mentions "network layer" + "IETF standard," IPSec is always the answer.

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