What is SSL and why does your website need it?

What are SSL, https, and TLS?

SSL ensures secure data traffic. It is a protocol that encrypts the information before it ends up on the internet. Without SSL, the data travels across the internet as readable text and can therefore be easily intercepted, read and manipulated by malicious parties.

You can recognize websites that have an SSL certificate by the green lock at the top left of your browser. In addition, you can also recognize an SSL connection by the website address and URL. The URL of an SSL secured website starts with Https (Hhyper Text Ttransfer Pprotocol Ssecure). The extra s at the end of https so it stands for safe. Non-secure websites start with Http, without s.

What is an SSL certificate?

SSL secures the connection between two computers. For such a secure connection to take place, you need a certificate, an SSL certificate. A certificate contains information about the certificate holder, the domain, the name of the authority that issued the certificate, the country in which the certificate was issued, and the period of validity. An SSL certificate always consists of a public and a private key that are required to send the message encrypted and ultimately convert it back into readable text.

How does SSL work?

To set up such a secure connection, a number of actions take place between the browser and the server.

1. Computer A asks computer B to establish a secure connection via SSL
2. Both computers exchange certificates and verify the authenticity of the certificates
3. If the certificate is correct, (sensitive) data can be sent securely. This can be the information you enter when ordering a product in a webshop. The data is sent encrypted via unique encryption.
4. Once the server has received the data, the data is decrypted again and the secure connection has been successful.

So SSL works something like this:

Person A wants to send a package safely to person B. Person B has a padlock and an associated key. Only person B has access to the key. The padlock can be requested and used by anyone. The padlock is the public key. The key is the private key.

Person A asks Person B for a secure connection and Person B says, “Sure! Here is my public padlock!” Person B gives the padlock to person A. Person A packs his package and clicks the padlock to close the package. Then person A sends the package to person B. Because only person B has the key to the padlock, only person B can open the package again. This way, you have a secure connection between A and B!

Why an SSL certificate?

There are many reasons why you need an SSL certificate for your website. The safety of your website is increasingly important.

1. SSL is required by law under the GDPR
   An SSL certificate is mandatory if you process personal data. Especially since the arrival of the AVG it is essential to see the privacy and safety of the website visitor as a priority.
2. “Unsecure” notifications in Google Chrome without SSL
   As of July 2018, Google Chrome will list all websites that do not have an SSL certificate as insecure. If you do not process personal data with your website, it is still necessary to purchase an SSL certificate. Google likes to see SSL as the standard and motivates every website owner to use it proactively. For example, Google also makes it mandatory for every domain name with the .app extension having an SSL certificate.
3. Sensitive information is encrypted with SSL
   Sensitive information such as address details or payment transactions is encrypted. For example, it is a lot more difficult for internet criminals to view or modify this data.
4. SSL is important for SEO
   Search engines reward websites with an SSL certificate with a higher rating in Google. So an SSL certificate is not only good for security, but also for your SEO position in Google!
5. SSL builds trust
   An SSL certificate builds trust. Almost everyone is familiar with the green lock in the browser. If your website has an SSL certificate, people are more likely to see you as trustworthy and are more likely to make a purchase.
6. SSL helps against Phishing
   With an SSL certificate, your visitor's browser validates that your website is real. This way, the visitor can be sure that they are on your website and not on a counterfeit Phishing website.

Which SSL certificate?

So plenty of reasons to take out an SSL certificate. But which certificate is suitable for your website? I'll tell you that in the next blog.

TLS (Transport Layer Security)

In fact, TLS is nothing more than a more secure version of SSL. Nowadays, TLS technology is always used. However, SSL, as a term for a secure website, is still used because this is the historically established term.