SSL/TLS Protocol Basics

  SSL/TLS (Secure Socket Layer/Transport Layer Security) is a protocol that is used to provide secure communication between two machines over a network. It was originally developed by Netscape in the mid-1990s and has since become a widely adopted standard.

Here are some key facts and concepts related to SSL/TLS:

1. SSL/TLS provides confidentiality, integrity, and authentication for communication between two machines.
2. SSL/TLS works by using a combination of public key cryptography, symmetric key cryptography, and hashing.
3. The SSL/TLS protocol has evolved over time, with different versions offering varying levels of security.
4. SSL/TLS certificates are used to establish trust between two machines, and are issued by trusted certificate authorities.
5. SSL/TLS can be used for a variety of applications, including web browsing, email, and VPNs.
6. SSL/TLS is vulnerable to various attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks and downgrade attacks.
7. In recent years, there has been a move towards replacing SSL/TLS with newer protocols, such as TLS 1.3, which offer improved security and performance.