Transport Layer Security (
TLS) and its predecessor,
Secure Sockets Layer (
SSL), are
cryptographic protocols that provide
security and
data integrity for communications over networks such as the
Internet. TLS and SSL encrypt the segments of network connections at the
Transport Layer end-to-end.
Several versions of the protocols are in wide-spread use in applications like web browsing, electronic mail, Internet faxing, instant messaging and voice-over-IP (VoIP).
TLS is an IETF standards track protocol, last updated in RFC 5246, that was based on the earlier SSL specifications developed by Netscape Corporation.[1]
The TLS protocol allows client/server applications to communicate across a network in a way designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery. TLS provides endpoint authentication and communications confidentiality over the Internet using cryptography.
