Before understanding the purpose of an SSL certificate, let\u2019s consider this simple scenario. Suppose you\u2019re completing your tax return on the official IRS website (irs.gov). That means you\u2019re supplying your financial information, social security number, tax identification number, and other employment-related data on that website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can you make sure your information is only going to be received by irs.gov\u2019s server? How do you know your information isn\u2019t being redirected to someone else\u2019s server, or that someone isn\u2019t reading, stealing, or modifying the information while it is in transit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer is \u201cyou don\u2019t\u201d \u2014 unless, of course, the website is using an OV or EV SSL certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sounds scary, doesn\u2019t it? Now that you have at least a basic idea about the importance of the data security, let’s talk about the purpose of an SSL certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SSL (or, more accurately, TLS) stands for secure sockets layer (or transport layer security) and represents the web protocol that\u2019s used to keep website data safe in transit. This protocol helps to ensure that the data reaches the intended website server using a secure, encrypted connection. An SSL certificate is what helps you to establish this secure connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we\u2019ll cover everything that you need to know about the purpose of an SSL certificate and its benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An SSL\/TLS certificate<\/a> serves multiple purposes and offers multiple benefits to organizations and users alike. These are the main uses of an SSL certificate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The primary purpose of an SSL certificate is to protect the data while it is traveling between two parties (such as between the client and the server, or between two servers) through the use of the protocols we mentioned earlier. When a person shares any sensitive information on a HTTP website, that data travels using an insecure internet network until it reaches the intended website’s server. The data must be protected in transit because it\u2019s very easy for attackers to break the internet network and read, alter, and steal the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An SSL certificate enables a secure, encrypted connection (HTTPS) between two parties. An SSL certificate from a reputable brand, such as Sectigo, supports up to 256-bit encryption strength and 2048-bit signature keys for data and session key encryption. So, no hacker (or man-in-the-middle attacker) can read, interpret, steal, and modify your customers’ sensitive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another essential reason an SSL is used for is identity verification of the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our previous example, what stops someone from applying for an SSL certificate for irs.gov? The answer is \u201cNothing!\u201d Anyone can apply for an SSL certificate for any website on the internet. However, it\u2019s the job of the SSL certificate\u2019s issuer (i.e., the certificate authority, or CA) to verify the applicant’s identity before issuing a certificate to any given website. All the sites have their unique public key and its corresponding private key. It is the CA’s job to attach the right public key to the right hostname (website\u2019s domain name) in the SSL certificate. That’s how the CA makes sure that all the encrypted traffic reaches to the correct website\u2019s server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, any applicant must prove to the CA that they own the domain for which they have applied an SSL certificate (as a minimum). For organization validated<\/a> (OV) and extended validated<\/a> (EV) SSL certificates, on the other hand, the CA also must verify a business\u2019s legal existence before issuing an SSL certificate for a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CA takes all the precautions to ensure your users’ data reaches the right website’s server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Know more: Certificate Authority<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the lowest prices on trusted SSL certificates from Sectigo.<\/p>\nShop Now<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Since 2014, Google considers an SSL certificate one of its important ranking factors. In today’s competitive world, organic traffic has enormous value. There are almost 200 criteria<\/a> Google takes into consideration while ranking a webpage. One of them is an SSL certificate. The other ranking criteria, such as backlinks, exceptional content, age of the domain, higher domain authority, technical SEO requirement, etc. take a long time to attain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While an SSL certificate is a low-hanging fruit among them, if all factors are equal, the search engines will rank the site with an SSL certificate higher than the one without it. So, an SSL certificate is an easy and quick SEO factor that can contribute to your website getting better search ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we said earlier, it is the CA\u2019s job to make sure the web traffic is redirected to the right website\u2019s server. If a CA attaches a wrong public key to the wrong hostname (domain name) in the SSL certificate, it\u2019s called the mis-issuance of the certificate. When the CA makes a mistake in its verification process and mis-issues an SSL certificate, the SSL warranty<\/a> comes handy. If a user suffers from financial loss due to such mis-issuance, the CA must reimburse the legal penalty (up to the warranty amount) to the victim. The SSL certificate\u2019s warranties can range anywhere from $10,000 to $2 million!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please note that only commercial certificate authorities\u2014 like Sectigo<\/a>\u2014 offer a warranty on their certificates. You won’t get warranties with free SSL certificates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you <\/p>\n\n\n\n you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard<\/a> (PCI DSS) or risk consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note that the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) itself doesn\u2019t enforce compliance, nor does it impose consequences, fines, or penalties for non-compliance. Those responsibilities are handled by the payment card companies themselves \u2014 brands such as Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. For example, Visa states<\/a> that \u201cany service providers that are not compliant to PCI DSS may be liable for non-compliance assessments starting at $10,000 USD per service provider.\u201d And non-compliance fines aren\u2019t just one-off charges \u2014 they\u2019re imposed monthly until the business is compliant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the core requirements<\/a> it stipulates is that the merchant must install an SSL certificate to encrypt and protect cardholder\u2019s information such as card number, cardholder name, expiration date, secret pin or CVV, ATM pin and service code while these types of data are in transit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The use of encryption is also required to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other regulations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another purpose of an SSL certificate is to make the users safe and gain their confidence. Nowadays, people are becoming more security-savvy. They won’t like to share any sensitive details such as card numbers, email addresses or phone numbers on a site that\u2019s labeled \u201cNot Secure.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is particular good to know considering that all browsers show some type of \u201cNot Secure\u201d warning right in front of the domain name in the address bar for sites lacking SSL certificates. When a user clicks one of these \u201cNot Secure\u201d messages, the browser shows a dialogue box that tells them that their connection to the site is not secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get rid of such pesky security warnings and get a padlock symbol in front of your domain name, you need an SSL certificate. The padlock sign is the first thing people see when visiting a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonus point<\/strong>: If you have installed site seals on the checkout pages or footers, it is a huge plus. Site seals, also known as TrustLogos, are the small images having the certificate authorities\u2019 name on it. They work like the visual indicator of trust. TrustLogos are available for free with any commercial SSL certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you know the purpose of an SSL certificate (and what SSL is used for in general), we can assume that the next questions that must be circling in your mind would be related to cost and types. As far as cost is concern, you we have good news for you! An SSL certificate is available for an unbelievably low price. On SectigoStore<\/a>, a standard SSL certificate starts at just $8.78\/year! To know which type of SSL certificate is the most suitable for your website, check out our article on SSL certificate types<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Save 87% on SSL security certificates! Get the lowest prices on trusted SSL certificates from Sectigo.<\/p>\nShop Now<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nLearn About Standard SSL Certificates<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Purpose of an SSL Certificate: Offering Greater Security of Data in Transit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Purpose of an SSL Certificate: Asserting and Assuring Organizational Identity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Save 87% on SSL Security Certificates!<\/h2>\n
Purpose of an SSL Certificate: Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Purpose of an SSL Certificate: Warranty for When Things Go Wrong<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Purpose of an SSL Certificate: Legal and Regulatory Compliance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Purpose of an SSL Certificate: Gaining Customers\u2019 Trust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Get the Top-notch Brand Sectigo’s SSL Certificate Only For $8.95\/Year! <\/h2>\n