SSL
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Cybersecurity
| Stands for | Secure Sockets Layer |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a cybersecurity abbreviation.
The original protocol for encrypting connections between browsers and web servers, created by Netscape in the mid-1990s and replaced by TLS. "SSL" survives as everyday shorthand for HTTPS certificates and encryption, even though every version of SSL itself is obsolete and insecure.
Example: Our SSL certificate expires next week, so renew it before visitors start seeing security warnings.
Usage notes
SSL 2.0 shipped in 1995 and SSL 3.0 in 1996; version 1.0 was never released. The 2014 POODLE attack broke SSL 3.0, and the IETF formally prohibited it in 2015 (RFC 7568). Certificates sold as "SSL certificates" actually work with TLS, because the certificate does not depend on the protocol version. Security scanners flag any server that still accepts SSL. The name refers to the "sockets" programming interface the protocol wrapped.
Related abbreviations
More cybersecurity abbreviations
- SIEM – Security information and event management
- SOAR – Security orchestration, automation and response
- SOC – Security operations center
- SOC 2 – System and Organization Controls 2
- SPF – Sender Policy Framework
- SQLi – SQL injection
- SSO – Single sign-on
- SSRF – Server-side request forgery
- TLS – Transport Layer Security
- Tor – The Onion Router
- TOTP – Time-based one-time password
- TPM – Trusted Platform Module