diff --git a/lib/restclient/request.rb b/lib/restclient/request.rb
index 67b69e2..144c3fe 100644
--- a/lib/restclient/request.rb
+++ b/lib/restclient/request.rb
@@ -52,67 +52,6 @@ module RestClient
       new(args).execute(& block)
     end
 
-    # This is similar to the list now in ruby core, but adds HIGH for better
-    # compatibility (similar to Firefox) and moves AES-GCM cipher suites above
-    # DHE/ECDHE CBC suites (similar to Chromium).
-    # https://github.com/ruby/ruby/commit/699b209cf8cf11809620e12985ad33ae33b119ee
-    #
-    # This list will be used by default if the Ruby global OpenSSL default
-    # ciphers appear to be a weak list.
-    #
-    # TODO: either remove this code or always use it, since Ruby uses a decent
-    # cipher list in versions >= 2.0.
-    #
-    DefaultCiphers = %w{
-      !aNULL
-      !eNULL
-      !EXPORT
-      !SSLV2
-      !LOW
-
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
-      ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
-      ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
-      DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
-      DHE-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256
-      DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
-      DHE-DSS-AES256-GCM-SHA384
-      AES128-GCM-SHA256
-      AES256-GCM-SHA384
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256
-      ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA
-      ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384
-      ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA
-      ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
-      DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256
-      DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256
-      DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
-      DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
-      DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA256
-      DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA256
-      DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA
-      DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA
-      AES128-SHA256
-      AES256-SHA256
-      AES128-SHA
-      AES256-SHA
-      ECDHE-ECDSA-RC4-SHA
-      ECDHE-RSA-RC4-SHA
-      RC4-SHA
-
-      HIGH
-      +RC4
-    }.join(":")
-
-    # A set of weak default ciphers that we will override by default.
-    WeakDefaultCiphers = Set.new([
-      "ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT:!SSLv2:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW",
-    ])
-
     SSLOptionList = %w{client_cert client_key ca_file ca_path cert_store
                        version ciphers verify_callback verify_callback_warnings}
 
@@ -190,15 +129,6 @@ module RestClient
         if !ssl_ca_file && !ssl_ca_path && !@ssl_opts.include?(:cert_store)
           @ssl_opts[:cert_store] = self.class.default_ssl_cert_store
         end
-
-        unless @ssl_opts.include?(:ciphers)
-          # If we're on a Ruby version that has insecure default ciphers,
-          # override it with our default list.
-          if WeakDefaultCiphers.include?(
-               OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext::DEFAULT_PARAMS.fetch(:ciphers))
-            @ssl_opts[:ciphers] = DefaultCiphers
-          end
-        end
       end
 
       @tf = nil # If you are a raw request, this is your tempfile
diff --git a/spec/unit/request_spec.rb b/spec/unit/request_spec.rb
index d091ae0..fbce5ee 100644
--- a/spec/unit/request_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/request_spec.rb
@@ -926,56 +926,6 @@ describe RestClient::Request, :include_helpers do
       @request.send(:transmit, @uri, 'req', 'payload')
     end
 
-    it "should override ssl_ciphers with better defaults with weak default ciphers" do
-      stub_const(
-        '::OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext::DEFAULT_PARAMS',
-        {
-          :ssl_version=>"SSLv23",
-          :verify_mode=>1,
-          :ciphers=>"ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT:!SSLv2:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW",
-          :options=>-2147480577,
-        }
-      )
-
-      @request = RestClient::Request.new(
-        :method => :put,
-        :url => 'https://some/resource',
-        :payload => 'payload',
-      )
-
-      expect(@net).to receive(:ciphers=).with(RestClient::Request::DefaultCiphers)
-
-      allow(@http).to receive(:request)
-      allow(@request).to receive(:process_result)
-      allow(@request).to receive(:response_log)
-      @request.send(:transmit, @uri, 'req', 'payload')
-    end
-
-    it "should not override ssl_ciphers with better defaults with different default ciphers" do
-      stub_const(
-        '::OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext::DEFAULT_PARAMS',
-        {
-          :ssl_version=>"SSLv23",
-          :verify_mode=>1,
-          :ciphers=>"HIGH:!aNULL:!eNULL:!EXPORT:!LOW:!MEDIUM:!SSLv2",
-          :options=>-2147480577,
-        }
-      )
-
-      @request = RestClient::Request.new(
-        :method => :put,
-        :url => 'https://some/resource',
-        :payload => 'payload',
-      )
-
-      expect(@net).not_to receive(:ciphers=)
-
-      allow(@http).to receive(:request)
-      allow(@request).to receive(:process_result)
-      allow(@request).to receive(:response_log)
-      @request.send(:transmit, @uri, 'req', 'payload')
-    end
-
     it "should set the ssl_client_cert if provided" do
       @request = RestClient::Request.new(
               :method => :put,