Transport Layer Security: SSLv3 and TLSv1

This chapter is devoted to a full discussion of the protocols of both Secure Sockets Layer version 3 (SSLv3) and TLSv1. The first version of Transport Layer Security (TLS) is very closely compatible with SSLv3. The TLSv1 protocol provides communications privacy and data integrity between two communicating parties over the Internet. Both the SSL and TLS protocols allow client/server applications to communicate in such a way that they prevent eavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery. The SSL (or TLS) protocol is composed of two layers: the SSL (or TLS) Record Protocol and the SSL (or TLS) Handshake Protocol. The Handshake Protocol allows the client/server to agree on a protocol version, to authenticate each other by forming an MAC, and to negotiate an encryption algorithm and cryptographic keys for protecting data sent in an SSL record before the application protocol transmits or receives its first byte of data.