What is IPSEC Tunneling?

IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) is a suite of protocols that secures Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each IP packet of a communication session. IPsec includes protocols for establishing mutual authentication between agents at the beginning of the session and negotiation of cryptographic keys to use during the session. IPsec can be used to protect data flows between a pair of hosts (e.g., server to client, or client to server), between a pair of security gateways (e.g., router to router or firewall to firewall), or between a security gateway and a host (e.g., router to client). IPsec VPN tunneling is commonly used to create secure connections between networks or devices over the internet.