SSL - An Introduction

SSL, developed by Netscape Communications as a way of ensuring the security of e-commerce transaction. SSL has become a low cost alternative compared to IPSec based networks.

The SSL standard is not a single protocol, rather it has a set of accepted data transfer routines that are designed to protect the integrity of the data transmitted.
SSL relies on Certificates, Digital identification cards and keys.Certificates include the name of the certification authority that issued the certificate, the name of the entity to which the certificate was issues, the entity's public key, time stamps that indicate the expiration date of the certificate.

There are two types of keys, used as ciphers to encrypt and decrypt data. Private keys are issued to entities and are never revealed. Public keys are given out freely. Both keys are necessary for authentication routines. Data encrypted with the public key cant be decrypted with the same key and vice versa.