Cipher suites

A cipher suite is a set of ciphers (encryption algorithms) used for encrypting sensitive information. SSL uses cipher suites to ensure security and integrity of information transmitted over a network connection. Different cipher suites provide different levels of encryption.

To allow users to select the level of security that suits their needs, and to enable communication with others who might have different needs, SSL defines cipher suites, or sets of ciphers. When an SSL connection is established, the client and server exchange information about which cipher suites they have in common. They then communicate using the common cipher suite that offers the highest level of security. If they do not have a cipher suite in common, secure communication is not possible.

There are many different algorithms that can be used for encrypting data, and for computing the message authentication code. Some provide the highest levels of security, but require a large amount of computation for encryption and decryption; others are less secure, but provide rapid encryption and decryption. The length of the key used for encryption affects the level of security; the longer the key, the more secure the data.

The individual ciphers that can be used by CICS are dependent on the CICS Transaction Server ENCRYPTION parameter. This is a system initialization parameter which can be set for weak, medium or strong encryption.


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Timestamp icon Last updated: Tuesday, 19 November 2013


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