SSL and TLS: A Beginners Guide

This practical serves to explain the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, how they can be applied to a web application, and the requirements necessary to create a secure link between a server and a client machine. In addition, a development history of the protocols will be given, and a brief discussion of the impact that secure communications protocols have had on the electronic commerce arena. This paper particularly serves as a resource to those who are new to the information assurance field, and provides an insight to two common protocols used in Internet security. Though SSL and TLS are not the only secure protocols currently in use, they are very common for sites dealing with transactions that could involve sensitive data (ie: passwords, personal and financial information, etc.).