SSL TLS Handshake Explained

A TLS handshake, or an SSL handshake, is what happens when you're on the internet and you want to exchange data securely with a website or app on your device. It's a way to ensure that your information like payment or contact details stays private. This uses HTTPS, which most browsers, like Chrome, require.

During a TLS handshake, the client (your device) and the server (the website) exchange certificates to verify each other's identity, most often validated by a root certificate authority. They also agree on a cipher suite, which includes various encryption algorithms to secure the data exchange. The whole point of this process is to create a secure and encrypted session for your data as it travels over the internet.

This happens not just for websites but also for apps and devices like smart speakers. TLS replaced SSL because SSL had security flaws, so TLS is the standard now. On a website with HTTPS, a TLS handshake ensures that your data stays private.

Even though people can see that data is being sent, they can't see what the data actually is.