[[encrypting-communications]]
== Encrypting Communications

Elasticsearch nodes store data that may be confidential. Attacks on the data may
come from the network. These attacks could include sniffing of the data,
manipulation of the data, and attempts to gain access to the server and thus the
files storing the data. Securing your nodes with the procedures below helps to
reduce risk from network-based attacks.

This section shows how to:

* Encrypt traffic to, from and within an Elasticsearch cluster using SSL/TLS,
* Require nodes to authenticate as they join the cluster using SSL certificates, and
* Make it more difficult for remote attackers to issue any commands to Elasticsearch.

The authentication of new nodes helps prevent a rogue node from joining the
cluster and receiving data through replication.

include::securing-communications/setting-up-ssl.asciidoc[]

include::securing-communications/enabling-cipher-suites.asciidoc[]

include::securing-communications/separating-node-client-traffic.asciidoc[]