SSL Terminology and Acronyms
Table 1: SSL Terminology provides definitions of SSL terminology:
Term |
Definition |
Plaintext |
The original, unencrypted data. |
Ciphertext |
The encrypted data. |
Cryptography |
The practice of secure communications. |
Encryption |
The process of turning plaintext into ciphertext. |
Decryption |
The process of turning ciphertext into plaintext. |
Encryption algorithm |
The algorithm used to perform encryption and decryption. It is also called the cipher. |
Encryption key |
The key used for encryption. |
Decryption key |
The key used for decryption. |
Symmetrical encryption algorithm |
The algorithm used for encryption in which the encryption key and the decryption key are identical. |
Asymmetrical encryption algorithm |
The algorithm used for encryption in which the encryption key and the decryption key are different. |
Public key |
The key used for encryption. |
Private key |
The key used for decryption. |
Table 2: SSL Acronyms lists SSL acronyms:
Acronym |
Definition |
AES |
Advanced Encryption Standard |
CA |
Certificate Authority |
CBC |
Cipher Block Chaining |
CN |
Common Name |
CRL |
Certificate Revocation List |
DES |
Data Encryption Standard |
DH, D-H |
Diffie-Hellman |
DSA |
Digital Signature Algorithm |
ECDH |
Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman |
ECDSA |
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm |
FQDN |
Fully Qualified Domain Name |
IDS |
Intrusion Detection System |
IPS |
Intrusion Prevention System |
MAC |
Message Authentication Code |
MD |
Message Digest |
MitM |
Man-in-the-Middle |
OCSP |
Online Certificate Status Protocol |
OoB |
Out-of-Band |
PEM |
Privacy Enhanced Mail |
PFS |
Perfect Forward Secrecy |
PKCS12 |
Public Key Cryptography Standard #12 |
PKI |
Public Key Infrastructure |
RSA |
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman |
SHA |
Secure Hash Algorithm |
SSL |
Secure Sockets Layer |
TCP |
Transmission Control Protocol |
TLS |
Transport Layer Security |
URL |
Uniform Resource Locator |