CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

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What does the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol facilitate in IPsec?

Encryption of application data
Negotiation of encryption/decryption keys
Routing decisions based on load balancing
Firewall configurations

The correct answer is: Negotiation of encryption/decryption keys

The Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol plays a crucial role in the IPsec framework by facilitating the negotiation of encryption and decryption keys. This is essential for establishing secure communication channels over IP networks. IKE operates in two phases: the first phase creates a secure, authenticated communication channel between the peers, and the second phase is responsible for negotiating the actual security associations, which includes the cryptographic keys used to encrypt and decrypt the IP packets during transmission. By ensuring that both parties agree on the encryption algorithms, hash functions, and keys, IKE establishes a foundation of trust and security for data transmission. As a result, this enables IPsec to provide confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity for the data being transferred across potentially insecure networks, such as the Internet. In contrast, while encryption of application data, routing decisions, and firewall configurations may all be relevant in network security and operations, they do not represent the primary function of IKE within the context of IPsec.