Why You Need to Secure Your Website With SSL Certificate

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) that stands for Standard security

12:35 08 March 2019

As the internet continues to grow and become an integral part of human life daily, sensitive information is constantly being transferred over various internet mediums. As human’s reliance on the internet continues to grow; usernames, passwords, and bank information are some of the information that is frequently being used on the internet.

Cybercrime is on the rise, and in this digital age, all internet users are susceptible to being attacked. And with the advent of e-commerce, internet security has become all the more necessary. Websites that require any form of text input need to be secured, and those with weak security infrastructures are easy targets. Unencrypted internet connections leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks of all kinds.

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) that stands for Standard security - technology ensuring that data transfers between a server and a browser are encrypted, secured and of wholesome integrity. These certificates digitally connect a cryptographic key to a business’s details. They are minute data files which upon installation on a web server will trigger the https protocols and padlock. Consequently, enabling a connection that is secured between the web browser and the server. 

These certificates bind a domain name, hostname or server name to an organisation (company) identity and location. They are mostly employed to secure logins, data transfer, and credit card transactions, and they have in recent times found application when surfing social media websites. They secure the browsing session and web traffic from the web server to the browser.

This certificate or file has the

• Name of the Certificate Holder.
• Certificate serial number and expiration date.
• A replica of the certificate holder’s public key
• Electronic Signature of the certificate issuing body.

How Website Security Works

The Key Cryptography that is digitally bound to the organisation or company uses two keys of randomly generated numbers - a public key and a private key. The public key can be used to encrypt all messages that are being sent from the website, and it is accessible in the public domain and familiar to the server. The private key is used to decrypt the message on the server and is not available to the public domain.

How to identify Secured Websites

The application protocol carries the notation “S” which stands for “Secure” when the certificate has been successfully installed on the server. A Padlock or a Green bar will also be shown in the browser when visiting an SSL Certificate installed website.

Why you Need Security on the Internet

By ensuring the security of an internet connection:

• Trust is established
  
  

A secure website builds brand credibility and increases customers’ sense of safety

• The ranking of an organisation’s website increases
• Sensitive Data is secured between the servers and browsers
  Information sent from a computer connected to the internet is routed from one computer to another before reaching this server. All computers in this network can access sensitive information that hasn’t been properly encrypted. Encryption makes this information unreadable and guarantees users security
• The conversion rate is improved