Understanding the Difference Between SSH, TLS, and SSL

In this article, we will discuss the differences between SSH, TLS, and SSL. These three cryptographic protocols are commonly used to secure data transmitted over networks. Many beginners often confuse these protocols, so it is important to understand their distinctions and purposes.

Securing Data Transmission

When you are using a shopping website and need to make a payment with your credit card, the information you send over the network is vulnerable to interception. Both SSL and TLS help encrypt this data, ensuring that it remains secure during transmission. By encrypting the data, anyone attempting to intercept it will be unable to understand or access the sensitive information being sent.

Usage with Different Network Protocols

SSL or TLS can be used with various network protocols to secure data transmission. Some examples include:
– HTTP becomes HTTPS
– FTP becomes FTPS
– SMTP becomes SMTPS

By adding either SSL or TLS to these protocols, the connection is protected, maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the transmitted data.

SSL and TLS Naming Conventions

You might wonder why there are two different names for essentially the same protocol. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) was the initial version of the secure protocol. However, it was never officially released due to security concerns. The first official release was SSL 2.0, which came out in 1995. This was followed by SSL 3.0 in 1996. In 1999, SSL was renamed TLS (Transport Layer Security) with the release of TLS 1.0. Since then, we have had TLS 1.1 in 2006, TLS 1.2 in 2008, and the most recent version, TLS 1.3, released in 2018. The older versions of TLS before 1.2 were found to have security flaws and have since been deprecated.

SSH for Remote Server Management

SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol specifically used for securely running commands on remote servers. For example, if you have a website deployed on a remote server and want to check how much storage space is available, you would establish a secure connection between your local computer and the remote server using SSH. You can then run commands from your local computer, which are sent to the remote server. The server processes the commands and sends back the results, which are displayed in your local terminal. SSH ensures that these commands and their results are transmitted securely, preventing unauthorized access or tampering.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored the differences between SSH, TLS, and SSL. While TLS is the current and more secure version of the protocol used for securing data transmission, SSL was the older name used before TLS was officially released. On the other hand, SSH is a protocol that allows secure remote server management by establishing encrypted connections for running commands. Understanding the distinctions and purposes of these protocols is essential for maintaining the security and integrity of network communication.