Which of the following tunneling protocols is used to make data transfers secure on the network layer?

The correct answer is C. IPSec. IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) operates at Layer 3 (the network layer) of the OSI model, providing encryption, authentication, and data integrity for IP packets directly - making it the only choice here that secures data at the network layer. The distractors - L2TP, L2F…

Network Security

Question

Options

AL2TP
BL2F
CIPSec
DPPTP

How the community answered

(56 responses)

A
9% (5)
B
5% (3)
C
84% (47)
D
2% (1)

Explanation

IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) operates at Layer 3 (the network layer) of the OSI model, providing encryption, authentication, and data integrity for IP packets directly - making it the only choice here that secures data at the network layer. The distractors - L2TP, L2F, and PPTP - are all Layer 2 tunneling protocols: L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) and L2F (Layer 2 Forwarding, a Cisco predecessor to L2TP) both operate at the data link layer and provide no encryption on their own, while PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) is also a Layer 2 protocol and is considered cryptographically weak. Notably, L2TP is often paired with IPSec (as L2TP/IPSec) precisely because L2TP alone lacks security - a common exam trap.

Memory tip: IPSec literally contains "IP" - and IP is the defining Layer 3 protocol. If a question asks about network layer security, think IPSec.

Topics

#IPSec protocol#Network layer security#Tunneling protocols#VPN

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