CompTIA CASP+ Practice Test

Which cipher suite provides strong security but the worst performance for a secure web server?

1. 3DES - SHA

2. AES - GCM

3. RC4 - MD5

4. Blowfish - CBC

The correct answer is: 3DES - SHA

The choice of 3DES (Triple Data Encryption Standard) combined with SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) reflects a cipher suite that prioritizes strong security through its design by encrypting data three times, which significantly enhances its resilience against certain types of attacks. 3DES effectively doubles the key length of DES, providing a level of encryption that is superior to its predecessor. However, this extensive processing for each encryption operation leads to a notable performance impact, resulting in slower processing speeds, especially when handling large volumes of data or traffic, which is critical for a secure web server. In the context of performance, options like AES-GCM (which combines the Advanced Encryption Standard with Galois/Counter Mode) strike a better balance between strong security and efficient performance. Similarly, Blowfish offers flexibility and better speed, while RC4, despite being fast, is now considered insecure. Therefore, the combination of 3DES with SHA stands out as offering robust security features, albeit at the cost of slower performance, making it a choice for scenarios where security takes precedence over speed.