You may have seen the lock symbol on your browser, but what does it mean?

If you have ever noticed when some websites begin with HTTP and others begin with HTTPS, you have noticed an element of what it is to have SSL. If you don’t know why this is so important, you should keep reading. For the sake of your online safety and the online safety of your clients.

By the end of this article, you will know exactly why SSL holds a great significance in modern secure browsing and device security.

What is SSL?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it is a security protocol used to secure

data between two machines using encryption.

Millions of websites use SSL every day to secure connections and keep your data safe. You may know of SSL by some common things you see every day browsing. The pad lock, the browser bar turning green, the https protocol or the secure site seal. These are all indications that the site you are visiting is using SSL encryption.

Without SSL, any data between you send between the server and your PC maybe intercepted by malicious actors. To fully understand how SSL works and its importance, let’s go behind the pad lock.

To get that little padlock, inspiring security in users everything the process follows the below steps:

1. A browser tries to connect to a website (i.e., a web server) secured with SSL.

2. The browser demands that the web server identifies itself.

3. The website sends the browser or server a copy of its SSL certificate.

4. The browser or server checks to see whether it trusts the SSL certificate. If it does, it signals this to the webserver.

5. The web server returns a digitally signed acknowledgment to start an SSL encrypted session.

6. Encrypted data is then shared between the browser or server and the webserver.

If the business you are involved with doesn’t have SSL certificates, this is something you should add to your goals. SSL is an important part of protecting your customers data and privacy. If you’d like help to develop a plan to add SSL to your security infrastructure, reach out to the Altitude Innovations Team today