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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Intermediate

Cipher Suite

Named combination of algorithms used by TLS for key exchange, authentication, bulk encryption, and hashing.

Definition

In TLS 1.2, a suite such as TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 specifies key exchange (ECDHE), authentication (RSA), cipher and mode (AES-256-GCM), and hash (SHA-384). TLS 1.3 suites specify only the AEAD cipher and hash, since key exchange and signatures are negotiated separately. Administrators disable weak suites to prevent downgrade attacks.

Example

An NGINX ssl_ciphers directive limits TLS 1.2 to ECDHE suites with AES-GCM or ChaCha20.

Exam tip

Be able to parse each part of a TLS 1.2 cipher suite name.

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