SSL certificates ensure secure transmissions between a web browser and server. A trusted certificate authority verifies the identity of an organization before issuing a certificate. Users can verify a secure connection by checking for “https” in the address bar or other indicators such as a padlock icon. SSL certificates are important for building user trust, especially for e-commerce and financial services websites.
A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is a digitally signed credential issued by a credentialing agency for a specific organization’s website. SSL certificates are used in Internet technology to ensure the security of transmissions between a web browser and a server. A browser and a server exchange information indicating that the web server is valid, and the server establishes a secure connection. Users can check the appearance of their browser to determine if they are on a secure connection.
Any organization that wants to secure its web transmissions will contact a credentialing agency, called a certificate authority, to purchase an SSL certificate. The certificate authority, which should itself be a trusted organization, will verify the identity and validity of the requesting organization before issuing a certificate. Once granted, a certificate is installed on the organization’s Web server and the private and public keys used for encryption are created.
If a user accesses a website, the browser requests the identity of the web server. The server returns a copy of its SSL certificate. After the certificate is returned, the browser determines whether the certificate should be trusted. If the browser is uncertain, it may display a message to the user. The user can then examine the certificate and decide whether to continue.
When the browser trusts the SSL certificate, the browser responds to the server without requiring any action from the user. The server will recognize the browser’s response and start a secure session. Transmissions shared from here are encrypted, making them unreadable to a hacker.
The use of SSL certificates is important for building user trust in websites. Certificates are often used on e-commerce sites, where users might submit credit card information. Use is also essential for financial services websites, such as online banking and payment fulfillment sites. Other sites that may request personal information such as addresses, dates of birth or health information also typically use SSL certificates.
Users may want to verify that they are on secure websites before submitting private information. To verify, the user can examine the address bar of the browser. The address usually starts with “https” instead of “http”. In this case, “https” refers to the term “secure hypertext transfer protocol”. Different browsers may also use other methods to indicate to a user that they are visiting a site using an SSL certificate, such as displaying a padlock or secure connection information in the address bar or status bar.
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