What Is SSL Certificate Encryption Strength?

Have you ever felt unsafe in your transactions? Have you ever doubted if your passwords would be safe if your data was kept private? After reading and hearing all the news about cybercrime, do you anxiety shoot up too? Don’t worry too much, there are high chances of your protection already being provided and guaranteed by your servers by SSL. What is SSL you ask? 

SSL is compression for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a type of certification that provides security to sensitive information such as credit card details, passwords, and so on. When a group of servers is involved, an SSL certificate makes sure they are secured. It usually provides authenticity to a website and can also make it possible for encrypted internet activity to take place. Secure Sockets Layer certificates make data transfer easy and safe.

The protocols are cryptographic, enabling a secure communication space between the server and the browser. It reduces the risk of fraud and data leaks in many ways. SSL certificates are to be kept by servers but we can find out if they are used in the browser by looking for https:// in the address bar, a lock sign, green address bar, or all of the three. These are very important for cybersecurity with the rise of transactions and communication online.

SSL certificate also prevents hackers from diverting traffic to their sites when users click on another site. SSL is one of the top-notch security layers but does not interfere with the functioning of other security providers which is why it is only an added benefit to the system as a whole. 

SSL certificates provide security in 2 ways:

1. Encryption 

Packets of data are encrypted in a way that only the provider and user can access them when needed. No third party can be involved unless and until both the main parties agree. 

2. Verification of identity 

In an online business, trust is the most important factor and SSL certificates add to it by creating unique spaces for owner and client. Each one has an individual identity. 

An SSL certificate uses a public key that is available obviously to the public to encrypt or encode the data and a private key which is only in the hands of the owner to decrypt the information. The keys are distinct and come in two variants, both of which are asymmetric yet mathematical. The most commonly used symmetric algorithms are AES-128, AES-192, and AES-256.

The key that decrypts the previously encrypted messages contains a collection of 256 characters present in a line, by the use of zeroes and ones which is of course, within the binary system. Due to the various and flexible needs of a website, SSL Certificates come in different forms, brand, price, validation, and extra features. This is to ensure full client protection and satisfaction since security is an important aspect of services. The process of establishment of such a security is called a handshake.

The few types of SSL Certificates are:-

1. Domain Validation SSL Certificates
2. Business Validation SSL Certificates
3. Multiple Domain SSL Certificates
4. Wildcard SSL Certificates
5. Extended Validation SSL Certificates

We know about SSL (Secure Socket Layer) but not much about TLS (Transport Layer Security). Both protocols are used to make the transfer of online data safely and securely between the servers (providers) and browsers (users). SSL is older than TLS in terms of coming into the market, but every SSL certificate can use both SSL and TLS encryption, which is why SSL is better in terms of functioning.

Here’s how to check the version of SSL certification used:-

1) Enter the webpage you want to check in the browser. (any browser works) 

2) Right-click on the page or select the Page drop-down menu, and choose Properties.

3) In the new window, type in the search box for the Connection section. This will show the version of SSL used. 

To check the validity of your SSL or to know when it will be valid 1) Click on the lock sign displayed alongside the website address.

2) Click on the certificate (Valid) on the pop-up 

Why is SLS needed in the first place? 

• To provide security 
• To gain security 
• To prevent frauds from happening
• To limit the number of people who can access your product website to give a feeling of exclusivity 
• To build a certain trust among clients if you are a business model heavily dependent on the net 

To have some sort of control and validation 

The certificate encryption strength is a technical measurement of the number of bits in the key used to encrypt data during an SSL certification. This number is directly proportional to the amount of period required by the computer/computers to decrypt the information back into its original format. The strength of this coding depends only on the browser and the server it asks for the connection to. It makes so much sense to use a certificate because after all “Prevention Is Better Than Cure” and you can never have too much security. Plus, the world is now literally all online so it is pretty easy to be cheated or lied to. 

However, it is also to be noted that nothing is infallible, and just like that the SSL can also be cracked. The catch here is that it would take an extremely long time to do it. If we take a standard, trustworthy SSL, it would be of 256 bit, and just imagine how long it would be needed to break it? 3.31 x 10 to the power 56 years !!!

Therefore, it is advisable to choose certificates that have a higher number of bit and resultant strength of encryption since it takes way longer to be broken. 

Apart from encryption strength, the following factors should be kept in mind while getting an SSL certificate:-

1. Warranty amount
2. Validation level (DV, OV, or EV)
3. Number of domains to be secured
4. Encryption algorithm (RSA,ECC, etc.)