An Explanation of SSL and TLS Security Certificates

As data travels through the internet, it passes through multiple devices before reaching its destination. If the data isn’t encrypted, it can be intercepted by cybercriminals and stolen. This can include login credentials, financial information and other private communications that aren’t end-to-end encrypted.

To explanation of SSL & TLS security certificates certificates encrypt data-in-transit and use a combination of symmetric and asymmetric cryptography to protect the confidentiality and integrity of information as it travels between the client and server. The handshake process is a negotiation between the client and server that establishes communication, verifies authenticity, determines encryption algorithms and agrees on session keys.

In order for this to work securely, the Certificate Authority (CA) that issues certificates must be trusted. This is why it’s important to verify the trustworthiness of a CA, and to only deploy TLS certificates from trusted sources. However, breaches have occurred at numerous CAs, resulting in compromised certificates that can be used by malicious actors to steal information.

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SSL & TLS are also used for securing HTTPS connections, and are an essential part of a website’s security infrastructure. Millions of websites rely on these protocols to provide consumers with the confidence that their online transactions are safe and secure. In fact, many browsers will display a ‘Not Secure’ warning if you don’t have an SSL or TLS certificate. Learn more about these protocols in this article, as well as how Gigamon’s visibility solutions can help you better understand and monitor them.