Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Practice Exam 2026 - Free CCNA Practice Questions and Study Guide

The correct answer highlights the two key phases of the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol: identity verification and security association negotiation.

During the first phase, known as identity verification, the peers involved in the connection authenticate each other. This is crucial for ensuring that both parties in the communication are legitimate and trusted entities. Various authentication methods can be used here, such as pre-shared keys or public key infrastructure (PKI).

In the second phase, the focus shifts to security association negotiation. This phase involves establishing the parameters of the security association, including the encryption algorithms, hash functions, and key lifetime, which will be utilized for protecting the actual data transmitted over the connection. This negotiation is vital for ensuring that both parties agree on how to protect the communication.

Understanding these two phases is essential for grasping how IKE facilitates secure exchanges in Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) environments, enabling secure communications over potentially untrusted networks.