Protocol
TLS
Transport Layer Security
The encryption protocol behind HTTPS: it keeps traffic between two programs private and proves who the server is.
TLS wraps a network connection in encryption and uses certificates to prove the identity of the server (and optionally the client). It is what the padlock in a browser means, and it also protects email, APIs and VPNs. TLS replaced the older SSL protocol; versions 1.2 and 1.3 are the ones in use today.
TLS in the news
Recent stories that mention it.
Related
- ProtocolDTLS · Datagram Transport Layer SecurityTLS adapted for UDP: the same encryption for traffic that can arrive out of order or not at all.
- ProtocolSSL · Secure Sockets LayerThe retired predecessor of TLS; the name lives on in product names such as OpenSSL and "SSL VPN".
- ConceptCertificate authorityAn organisation trusted to vouch for a website's identity by signing its certificate.
- TechnologyOpenSSLThe open-source library that much of the internet uses to speak TLS and do cryptography.
- ProtocolHTTPSHTTP, the language of the web, sent inside a TLS-encrypted connection.
Plain-language explainers written by SecurityTabs, matched to stories by name. All terms