Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v11) — Question 4

What is one of the advantages of using both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography in SSL/TLS?

Answer options

• A. Supporting both types of algorithms allows less-powerful devices such as mobile phones to use symmetric encryption instead.
• B. Symmetric algorithms such as AES provide a failsafe when asymmetric methods fail.
• C. Symmetric encryption allows the server to security transmit the session keys out-of-band.
• D. Asymmetric cryptography is computationally expensive in comparison. However, it is well-suited to securely negotiate keys for use with symmetric cryptography.

Correct answer: D

Explanation

Option D is correct because it highlights the primary role of asymmetric cryptography in securely negotiating keys, despite its higher computational cost. The other options incorrectly suggest that symmetric methods are used as backups or for alternative key transmission, which does not accurately reflect the primary functions of these cryptographic methods.