TLSterminaatio

TLS termination refers to the process of decrypting data that has been encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS). When a client establishes a secure connection with a server using TLS, the communication is encrypted end-to-end. TLS termination occurs at a specific point in the network, typically a server, proxy, or load balancer, where the encrypted traffic is decrypted.

Once the traffic is decrypted at the termination point, it can be processed by the application or forwarded to other internal services. This allows for easier inspection, logging, and routing of the traffic without requiring each internal component to handle TLS encryption and decryption. Common scenarios for TLS termination include web servers handling HTTPS traffic, load balancers distributing traffic to backend servers, and API gateways managing secure API calls.

The benefits of TLS termination include simplifying server configurations, improving performance by offloading encryption/decryption tasks, and enabling centralized security policy enforcement. However, it also introduces a point where the traffic is unencrypted, so security measures must be in place at the termination point to protect sensitive data. The communication between the termination point and the internal services may or may not be re-encrypted depending on the network's security requirements.