What Is the Difference Between SSL Keys & Certificates?
Secure Socket Layer uses different security mechanisms to ensure that online transactions are sent securely. Certificates are used to vouch for the authenticity of the website. After a website is authenticated, a session is established in which data being sent back and forth are encrypted and decrypted by the use of SSL keys.
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Background
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Online transactions and sending personal information over the Internet make it imperative that communication lines are secure. Ordinary web requests that use HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, can be hijacked and intercepted because the data is not encrypted. Also, websites can easily be spoofed and mirrored, which increases the risk of sending sensitive information to the wrong web page.
Validating Websites
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By having certificate authorities like Verisign, websites can be authenticated as legitimate. These certificates are requested by your computer when you are trying to establish an SSL connection. Before any transaction can happen between your computer and the website, a valid certificate from a certification authority must be sent from the website's server to your computer.
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Certificate Functions
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An SSL certificate is obtained from a trusted Certification Authority, which establishes and vouches for the the website you are requesting a secure connection. SSL certificates usually contain the logo of authentication and also the public keys necessary to encrypt and decrypt data that is to be sent to the computer. Certificate encryption can be low-level with at least 40-bit encryption or high-level, which has 128-bit encryption.
SSL Keys Functions
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Several SSL keys are generated during the session. They are used to encrypt and decrypt the information being sent to and from the computer. When a session is established between your computer and the website, both agree as to what algorithm will be used for encryption. Session keys are generated by both the computer and the website to ensure the integrity of the information being exchanged. SSL keys are used to verify that the information has not been modified or tampered with.
Lifecycle Difference
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Certificates last longer than SSL keys. SSL certificates are obtained from Certification Authority, which can be renewed regularly by banks and businesses. SSL keys or session keys, on the other hand, are uniquely generated during the session and discarded when the session ends.
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