Lantronix EDS8PR, EDS32PR, EDS16PR, EDS4100 manual Benefits of SSL, How SSL Works

C: Networking and Security

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an open-standard security protocol that provides privacy through encryption, server authentication, and message integrity. From its introduction in 1994, SSL has become the industry standard for securing e-commerce transactions over TCP/IP connections. And it is easy to see why.

Imagine mailing a letter in a clear envelope that anyone could see. If the envelope contained a check, credit card, or other valuable information, some nefarious individual could steal the letter or change its contents. Information traveling over networks, including the Internet, is just as vulnerable.

Prior to SSL, packets of information would travel networks in full view of anyone who could access the data. As the World Wide Web grew and gained in popularity, a solution became necessary for securing e-commerce transactions over the Internet. The solution would have to enable Internet consumers to reliably identify the Internet vendors (e- commerce servers) with whom they transact business while, at the same time, protect the confidentiality of the consumers’ sensitive information as it traversed the Internet. With the advent of SSL, personal information that could be seen by anyone with access to view it could now be secure.

Benefits of SSL

The following list summarizes the benefits of SSL:

‹Widely implemented standard for e-commerce applications

‹Reduces the complexities associated with keeping user information confidential

‹Works with existing Web servers and browsers

‹Eliminates the need for additional software applications

‹Provides high level of security

‹Platform and O/S neutral

‹Allows server authentication via certificates

How SSL Works

SSL uses cryptography to deliver authentication and privacy to message transmission over the Internet. SSL permits the communication of client/server applications without eavesdropping and message tampering.

SSL runs on layers between application protocols (HTTP, SMTP, etc.) and the TCP transport protocol. To set up an SSL connection, a TCP/IP connection must be established first. The SSL connection sets up a secure channel within the TCP/IP connection in which all traffic between the client and server is encrypted. All the calls from the application layer to the TCP layer are replaced with calls to the SSL layer, with the SSL layer handling communication with the TCP layer.

SSL is most commonly used with HTTP (thus forming HTTPS). Web sites protected by SSL start with a URL that begins with “https” and displays a padlock icon at the bottom of the page (and for Mozilla Firefox in the address bar as well).

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