HTTPSTLS

HTTPSTLS is the practice of securing the Hypertext Transfer Protocol by using Transport Layer Security. In common usage, it is referred to as HTTPS, which runs HTTP over TLS. The combination provides confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity for data exchanged between clients and servers, protecting against eavesdropping, tampering, and impersonation.

How it works: When a client connects to a server over HTTPSTLS, a TLS handshake begins. The client and server negotiate a version of TLS and a cipher suite, the server presents an X.509 certificate, and the client validates the certificate against trusted authorities and verifies the server name. If validation succeeds, a secure, encrypted channel is established and HTTP messages are transmitted within that channel. TLS may also support session resumption to reduce handshake overhead on subsequent connections.

Certificates and trust: TLS relies on a public key infrastructure. Servers present certificates issued by trusted certificate authorities, linking a public key to a domain name. Clients verify the certificate chain and hostname before proceeding. If verification fails, connections are often terminated or warned to users. Opaquely, TLS certs enable the server to prove its identity while enabling clients to keep data private from eavesdroppers.

Security best practices and considerations: Modern deployments use TLS version 1.2 or higher (preferably 1.3), strong, forward-secure cipher suites, and proper certificate management, including valid dates and renewal processes. Configurations should minimize downgrade and replay risks, and may employ measures such as HTTP Strict Transport Security to reduce the chance of protocol downgrades. Performance considerations include the use of HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 where supported, which can improve efficiency alongside TLS.