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What is an SSL Certificate?
An SSL certificate is a security tool, which enables e-commerce or
other secure communications on the Web. An SSL certificate provides
the following:
- Confirmation of Identity
-
The party receiving the information (i.e. the party controlling the
server) is the party to whom the communication is intended (i.e. not
some wily imposter).
- Non-interception
-
The user's information will not be intercepted and interpreted
(by some wily eavesdropper) between the user's browser and the
server.
The assurances obtained by SSL Certificates
are a necessity for all e-commerce implementations and any communication
in which confidential information is exchanged. Internet browsers
can rest assured that their communications are secured by a properly
authenticated SSL certificate as evidenced by the appearance of
a little padlock in the frame of their Internet browser.
Technically, an SSL certificate is
a statement digitally signed by a Certification
Authority (CA) that uses a properly authenticated Private
Key/Public Key pair to bind a public
key to an identity. This provides independent confirmation
of the identity of an entity. More formally, a certificate is
a computer-based record which:
- Identifies the Certification Authority issuing it
- Names, identifies, or otherwise describes an attribute of the subscriber
- Contains the subscriber's public key
- Contains the digital signature of the CA issuing it
- Provides a date range over which the certificate is valid
To obtain an SSL certificate, a Private
Key/Public Key Pair must be generated on the server and then authenticated
by a Certificate Authority (CA), which has the requisite recognition
in the browser software.
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