By 2019-20, financial losses to the industry due to cyber crime could touch $3 trillion mark. The amount is three times higher than what it was in 2015. These numbers are alarming. Techies and web security experts have been vocal in recommending measures to beef up cyber security measures in order to douse cyber threats.
Google was the first who started implementing security firewalls for protecting web properties against the attacks. From migrating HTTP websites into HTTPS and pushing the use of SSL certificates are two significant measures that Google recommended among others.
Before diving deep into how SSL prevents threats, here is a small intro about what is an SSL certificate.
What Is An SSL Certificate?
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. This is an encryption technology introduced by Netscape in the 1990s. The SSL creates an encrypted connection between your web server and your visitors’ web browser. The connection ensures smooth transmission of private and confidential information without obstacles like data tampering, message forgery and data stealing.
“In technical terms, SSL Certificates could be defined as small data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to an organization’s details. When they are installed on a web server, they activate the padlock and the https protocol (over port 443) and allow secure connections from a web server to a browser.”
How Do SSL Certificates Work?
SSL certificates work using two keys: One- Private Keys and Two- public keys. The public keys are meant to encrypt a connection, while the private keys decrypt or unlock it. These private and public keys provide an extra layer of privacy between your data and the rest of the world. They make your messages safe from hacking or other threats. SSL certificates are unarguably the best way to keep data secure and hacking proof.
Type Of SSL Certificates:
Web hosting companies such as ASPHostPortal, A2, Godaddy, Arvixe, HostForLIFEASP.NET, etc provide different type of SSL certificate. All of them use the same standard encryption methods. They are equally effective and safe. Each option has own requirements and attributes. Following are the five major SSL options you can choose from.
Single Domain SSL:
As the name sounds like, this SSL certificate protects a single domain. No other variations of the domain are covered. The certificate is a perfect bet for simple content based websites. If you own a normal B2B site, or an e-commerce website where all transactions occur on a single domain, single domain SSL will offer you complete security.
Multi Domain (SAN) SSL:
Multi-domain SSL certificates, also referred to as “SAN” (for Subject Alternative Names) cover similar domains. One multi-domain SSL certificate covers an entire suite of sites. So they provide flexibility for covering sites that might go away or not yet exist. A domain registrar and their certificate of authority put capping on the number of sites included under this SSL.
Wildcard SSL:
Wildcard SSL certificates offer comprehensive coverage against security and privacy threats to all your subdomains on a single root domain or host name. This scenario would be pretty useful for websites with heavy transactional requirements.
Organization SSL Certificate:
Organization SSL certificates tend to authenticate a company’s identity and information such as company’s primary address. The certificate is similar to single domain SSL and tend to offer security to e-commerce / payments components of the website.
Extended SSL Certificate:
Extended SSL certificates are the most secured among all. They verify the domain and double check the legal corporation. The website that uses this SSL certificate gets a green address bar on most modern browsers. The secure connections here used on your site are different than any other reputable SSL connection.
Buying SSL certificates isn’t complicated at all. You can purchase and setup one from the domain registrar or hosting provider you’re using.
