===== RFC2246 - The TLS Protocol =====
[[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.b_stds:tech:ietf:start| return to the IETF Standards ]]

<table>
<caption>Data sheet for The TLS Protocol (TLS)</caption>
| Title                      | TThe TLS Protocol |
| Acronym                    | TLS |
| Version                    | 1.0 |
| Document Number            | RFC2246 |
| Release Date               | January 1999  |
| Reference                  | [[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2246]] |
</table>

  : **Note**: The following is an excerpt from the official IETF RFC. It is provided here as a convenience and is not authoritative. Refer to the original document as the authoritative reference.

==== Introduction ====
  : //The primary [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:g:goal|goal]] of the TLS Protocol is to provide privacy and data
   integrity between two communicating [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:a:application|applications]]. The protocol is
   composed of two layers: the TLS Record Protocol and the TLS Handshake
   Protocol. At the lowest level, layered on top of some reliable
   transport protocol (e.g., TCP[TCP]), is the TLS Record Protocol. The
   TLS Record Protocol provides connection security that has two basic
   properties://

    * //The connection is private. Symmetric [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:c:cryptography|cryptography]] is used for
       data [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:e:encryption|encryption]] (e.g., DES [[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2246#ref-DES | DES]]
       , 
       RC4 [[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2246#ref-RC4 | RC4]], etc.) The [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:k:key|keys]] for
       this symmetric encryption are generated uniquely for each
       connection and are based on a secret negotiated by another
       protocol (such as the TLS Handshake Protocol). The Record
       Protocol can also be used without encryption.//

    * //The connection is reliable. Message transport includes a message
       integrity check using a keyed MAC. Secure hash functions (e.g.,
       SHA, MD5, etc.) are used for MAC computations. The Record
       Protocol can operate without a MAC, but is generally only used in
       this mode while another protocol is using the Record Protocol as
       a transport for negotiating security parameters.//

  : //The TLS Record Protocol is used for encapsulation of various higher
   level protocols. One such encapsulated protocol, the TLS Handshake
   Protocol, allows the [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:s:server|server]] and [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:c:client|client]] to authenticate each other and
   to negotiate an encryption algorithm and cryptographic keys before
   the application protocol transmits or receives its first byte of
   data. The TLS Handshake Protocol provides connection security that
   has three basic properties://

    * //The peer's identity can be authenticated using asymmetric, or
       [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:p:public_key|public key]], cryptography (e.g., RSA [[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2246#ref-RSA | RSA]], 
       DSS [[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2246#ref-DSS | DSS]], etc.). This
       [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:a:authentication|authentication]] can be made optional, but is generally required
       for at least one of the peers.//

    * //The negotiation of a shared secret is secure: the negotiated
       secret is unavailable to eavesdroppers, and for any authenticated
       connection the secret cannot be obtained, even by an attacker who
       can place himself in the middle of the connection.//

    * //The negotiation is reliable: no attacker can modify the
       negotiation communication without being detected by the parties
       to the communication.//

  : //One advantage of TLS is that it is application protocol independent.
   Higher level protocols can layer on top of the TLS Protocol
   transparently. The TLS standard, however, does not specify how
   protocols add security with TLS; the decisions on how to initiate TLS
   handshaking and how to interpret the authentication certificates
   exchanged are left up to the judgment of the designers and
   implementors of protocols which run on top of TLS.//

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