IPsec stands for Internet Protocol Security. This is an extension of the Internet Protocol (IP) to include encryption and authentication mechanisms.
IPsec adds additional security mechanisms to the Internet protocol. The goal behind this is secure communication via the potentially insecure IP network, e.g. the Internet. IP packets are cryptographically secured before they are transported over insecure public networks.
If two computers connect via the Internet - or in the case of the Internet of Things, computers or systems and end devices - third parties may be able to view this connection and extract private information or inject harmful files. IPsec was developed to prevent such access by unauthorized third parties. They should not be able to see data or access it in any way.
For this reason, connections are encrypted using security protocols. All transmitted data is virtually mixed and can only be read again correctly via a specific security key. If this security key is not available on the other side, it cannot process the data further. Since security keys are very complex, it is very difficult to guess or calculate them. And since only the sender and receiver have the key, the connection between them is secure. Encryption is possible via various protocols and usually works automatically with all VPN clients. Along with SSL, IPSec is one of two roughly differentiated protocols.
IPsec was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an integral part of IPv6. Because the Internet Protocol version 4 originally had no security mechanisms, IPsec was subsequently specified for IPv4.
