Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a fundamental record protocol for securing communication on the internet when doing tasks like browsing the web or sending emails.
What is TLS?
TLS is a security protocol that encrypts data exchanged between two systems — such as your browser and a website server. This encryption ensures a secured connection by keeping third parties from tampering with the data being sent. Transport Layer Security is what enables the secure “HTTPS” in your browser’s address bar.
How Does Transport Layer Security Work?
When clients (like your browser) connect to a server and start the “handshakes,” the server establishes its identity during this process with the help of a digital certificate (TLS or SSL certificates). After trust is built, both sides negotiate a shared set of encryption session keys.
Once the handshake messaging is complete, data transfer starts and now everything that’s sent between the browser and the web servers is encrypted. Different sessions can have multiple connections.
TLS and SSL: difference between them
TLS is often confused with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), its older counterpart. While SSL was the first widely adopted protocol, it has since been phased out due to several known vulnerabilities.
TLS is the new, secure version that came to replace SSL. Even though a lot of individuals still call it “SSL” out of habit, secure websites are now using TLS, including protocol versions 1.2 or version 1.3. TLS versions 1.0 succeeded SSL 3.0 and marked the beginning of the TLS protocol.
What TLS Does
Transport Layer Security secures your connections through encryption, authentication, and ensuring data integrity, and privacy. If TLS was not supported, your online activities would be vulnerable to eavesdropping, phishing, and manipulation.
Examples
TLS is utilized nearly everywhere on the internet. Transport Layer Security can be used for different purposes, including.
- When you go to a secure website that supports HTTPS
- When sending an email
- Online banking and e-commerce websites use TLS to secure transactions
- And more