What types of encryption ciphers are used by the PIA IOS application?

OpenVPNOpenVPN
edited June 2017 in iOS VPN Setup
@quicol, Please provide me with the following information.

1) What encryption cipher is used for data encryption?
2) What encryption cipher used for data authentication?
3) What encryption cipher is used for the handshake?
4) Why are we not able to alter our encryption settings from within the iOS application?
5) Is the auto reconnect feature the IOS version of the Killswitch?

The IOS application does not allow a user to alter the encryption settings but the PIA VPN encryption Page provides no information as to how these ciphers might be different from the default ones used by your other applications and so I was hoping that you could provide me with this information if it's not too much trouble.

Comments

  • Omnibus_IVOmnibus_IV
    OpenVPN establishes and controls the encryption. You might want to do research from the OpenVPN web site regarding encryption and certificates. Probally all of your questions could be answered there.
  • OpenVPNOpenVPN
    OpenVPN establishes and controls the encryption. You might want to do research from the OpenVPN web site regarding encryption and certificates. Probally all of your questions could be answered there.
    I'm not referring to the vanilla OpenVPN Application. I am referring to the Private Internet Access IOS application available in the App Store.
  • Omnibus_IVOmnibus_IV
    The app does nothing except select the available encryption methods and associated certificates. The PIA Manager is nothing more than a GUI to configure OpenVPN. I would say it is basically the same app that is on Google Play, just one is written in Android and one in iOS.
  • OpenVPNOpenVPN
    The app does nothing except select the available encryption methods and associated certificates. The PIA Manager is nothing more than a GUI to configure OpenVPN. I would say it is basically the same app that is on Google Play, just one is written in Android and one in iOS.
    The IOS app doesn't use OpenVPN, it uses IPsec instead.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]
    edited June 2017
    Hi @OpenVPN,

    1) What encryption cipher is used for data encryption? AES128-SHA1

    2) What encryption cipher used for data authentication? 3DES-SHA1

    3) What encryption cipher is used for the handshake? ECDH

    4) Why are we not able to alter our encryption settings from within the iOS application? We cannot curently change security settings due to approval by Apple. Because the application relies on OpenVPN and OpenVPN has an app on the Apple Store, Apple will not allow similar code.

    5) Is the auto reconnect feature the IOS version of the Killswitch? It's similar, but no. The auto reconnect feature can't terminate your internet connection if the VPN disconnects — it can only attempt to reconnect as quickly as possible. 

    Please let me know if you have any more questions!
  • jprokosjprokos
    3DES is vulnerable. Can we choose AES instead?
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