More concretely, it’s a security standard present on the internet.
To secure a page, the SSL certificate uses public-key cryptography. Two keys are randomly generated. These keys contain numbers.
One is a private key, and the other is a public key. The public key is known and can be used to encrypt any message.
So when a sender sends a secure message, they use a public key. The receiver of this message uses a private key to unlock and read it.
Therefore, even if a hacker tries to intercept the message, they can’t decrypt the page because they don’t have the right cryptographic code to decrypt it.
An online merchant is well advised to use an SSL certificate. It offers several advantages:
- secures their customers' data,
- increases consumer confidence,
- increases the conversion rate, and
- improves visibility on Google.
SSL certificates are issued by certificate (or certification) authorities. They maintain a list of all trusted certificates and operating systems, sites, browsers, or mobile devices.
SSL certificates are used to secure a wide range of data, including the following:
- online banking transactions,
- web applications and messaging,
- connections and exchanges of confidential information,
- internal traffic within organizations,
- cloud-based platforms,
- connections between different messaging systems,
- file transfers,
- hosting activities,
- etc.
Also be aware that SSL certification is very important on search engines today. Since July 2018, Google has begun flagging all unsecured sites.
