Which three protocols are included in the IPsec framework?

The correct answer highlights the three essential protocols that are part of the IPsec framework: Authentication Header (AH), Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP), and Internet Key Exchange (IKE).

AH provides integrity and authentication for IP packets, ensuring that the data has not been altered during transmission. It secures the header and the data, but it does not offer encryption, which is where ESP comes into play.

ESP, on the other hand, provides confidentiality, in addition to integrity and authentication. It encrypts the payload of the IP packets, ensuring that only authorized parties can read the data being transmitted.

IKE facilitates the establishment of a secure and authenticated communication channel through the exchange of cryptographic keys between the endpoints. It negotiates the security associations (SAs) and parameters needed for the IPsec protocols to function properly.

The other options include combinations of protocols that do not align with the fundamental components of the IPsec framework. For instance, while GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) is a tunneling protocol, it is not inherently part of IPsec, and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) serves a different purpose, focusing on secure communications at the transport layer rather than the network layer. Therefore, the inclusion of AH, ESP,