SSL<\/a>, or Secure Sockets Layer, is a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client—typically a web server and a browser, or a mail server and a mail client. This encrypted connection ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral. SSL<\/a> is an industry standard and is used by millions of websites in the protection of their online transactions with their customers.<\/p> Originally developed by Netscape<\/a> in 1994, the protocol was designed to address the lack of security on the early internet. While SSL<\/a> versions 2.0 and 3.0 have been deprecated due to vulnerabilities, they paved the way for TLS<\/a> (Transport Layer Security), which is the modern and more secure version of the protocol. Despite the shift to TLS<\/a>, the term SSL<\/a> remains the most common way to refer to this type of Cryptography<\/a>. The implementation of these protocols is facilitated through Digital Certificates<\/a>, which are issued by a trusted Certificate Authority<\/a>.<\/p> A core component of the protocol is the SSL Handshake<\/a>, a process where the two communicating parties exchange public keys, verify identities, and generate session keys for Symmetric Encryption<\/a>. According to Cloudflare<\/a>, this process happens in the background without interrupting the user experience. You can find more technical details regarding the deprecation of older versions in RFC 7568<\/a> from the IETF<\/a>.<\/p>