What is TLS data Encryption and How is it Different than SSL?
What is TLS data encryption and how is it different than SSL? You might ask this question if you notice that people talk about SSL and TLS online. They are both security systems that protect you and the website that you are visiting from data transfer interception. This means that SSL and TLS both encrypt the data that you are providing to a website online and vice versa.
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SSL and TLS Data Encryption
To make it simple and to answer the commonly asked question, what is TLS data encryption and how is it different than SSL, here is a brief explanation of what the two are and what they do to make websites and Internet users safe.
- Secure Socket Layer System
The Secure Socket Layer or SSL system encrypts the data that you send online. This means that other than the intended recipient of your information, no one else can read that data. The information that you send online is being jumbled into a string of digits and letters that can only be read by the intended recipient.
So, when you transact with an ecommerce site, which is protected with an SSL Certificate, the data that you provide will only be read by the site that you transact with. And the data is only rearranged back together after a ‘handshake’ or validation of identity of the site.
- Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security or TLS does the same. So, what is TLS data encryption and how is it different than SSL? Well, it is the successor of SSL, which means that it is more refined and it is deemed to be more secured than the SSL system. The difference between the two security systems may be subtle when you look at it but technically, they are very different.
The TLS 1.1 and 1.2 versions are much complex than the SSL 3.0 version, which means that hackers and even the NSA haven’t cracked the former’s system yet. But, it is still unsure whether this will change as NSA could very well move on from targeting SSL to targeting TLS.
SSL has been targeted by the NSA and has been said to be already been cracked by the organization. This means that your information is still vulnerable and accessible to the NSA. So, if you want to have a more secured connection online, you might want to try using the TLS system instead.
You can protect yourself and your emails using TLS if you can configure your emails. Gmail and Yahoo use the SSL technology so you cannot be too sure about your privacy using these services.
The question, what is TLS data encryption and how is it different than SSL, has already been answered. It is a more secure system and more refined. But, will this be your defense against loss of privacy? As of now, you can bask in its protection. But that can very well change when the NSA tries to target its system. Nonetheless, it is worth having a layer of protection than having none at all.
