If a security engineer uses public key certificates between clients and servers, which EAP implementation is deployed?

Using public key certificates between clients and servers indicates the use of a specific type of EAP implementation known as EAP Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS). This protocol employs mutual authentication, meaning both the client and the server must verify each other's identities using digital certificates. This strong security mechanism ensures that both parties involved in the communication can trust each other before any sensitive information is exchanged.

In EAP-TLS, the use of certificates provides robust encryption and is considered one of the most secure methodologies for establishing a secure connection within wireless networks. The reliance on public key infrastructure (PKI) is a fundamental characteristic of EAP-TLS, allowing it to securely manage authentication while preventing various types of attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks.

While other EAP implementations, like PEAP and EAP-TTLS, may also utilize tunneling for authentication, they do not strictly rely on client-side certificates. Instead, these protocols may use other methods, such as user credentials, for the authentication of clients. EAP-FAST, on the other hand, was designed to address some of the complexities and deployment challenges of EAP-TLS but does not necessarily require client certificates.

Thus, the defining feature of EAP-TLS is its use of