While reviewing an HTTPS capture, you notice the negotiated cipher suite is TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256. From the standpoint of bulk data encryption in the TLS session, which part of the suite actually carries out the confidentiality function and what is its effective key size?
ECDHE performs the content encryption by deriving a 256-bit key.
AES in GCM mode with a 128-bit key provides the session's confidentiality.
RSA with a 2048-bit (or larger) modulus encrypts the bulk data.
SHA-256 is the algorithm that encrypts the application records.
In a TLS cipher suite, the portion that follows the final "WITH" names the symmetric algorithm that encrypts and authenticates the application data. For TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, this is AES in Galois/Counter Mode (GCM). The "128" indicates AES is operating with a 128-bit key, providing both confidentiality and integrity for each record. ECDHE only establishes an ephemeral shared secret, RSA is used to verify the server's certificate, and SHA-256 is the hash algorithm employed by the TLS 1.2 pseudorandom function and for handshake-message authentication; it is not applied as an HMAC over the data records because AES-GCM already includes built-in integrity.
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What is AES in GCM mode?
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What does ECDHE mean in a cipher suite?
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Why is SHA-256 used in TLS?
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What is AES in Galois/Counter Mode (GCM)?
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