HP e-Commerce / XML director server appliance sa8250 - Users Guide

C H A P T E R 2 HP e-Commerce/XML Director Server Appliance SA8250 User Guide

SSL

Fundamentals

SSL involves an interchange of keys used both to authenticate the

parties and to provide information to securely encrypt confidential

data. The keys distributed in this medium are “one way,” or

asymmetric. That is, they can only be used to encrypt confidential

data, and only the “owner” of the public key can decrypt the data once

it is encrypted using the public key information. SSL assures the three

benefits shown in this table.

To establish a secure session with a server, the client sends a “hello”

message to which the server responds with its certificate and an

encryption methodology. The client then responds with an encrypted

random challenge, which is used to establish the session keys. This

method allows two parties to quickly establish each others’ identities

and establish a secure connection.

Several encryption methods are employed. Common ones are DES,

3DES, RC2, and RC4. Key size can be varied to determine the level

of security desired. A longer key is more secure.

The SA8250 supports all common keys and ciphers, as well as the

following encryption methods: DES, DES3, and RC2 & RC4. The

SA8250 includes a licensed version of the RSA code embedded in the

security module as well. The device's session management software

has been certified by prominent security agencies and meets all

standards for SSL traffic.

The SA8250 handles all the handshaking, key establishment, and

bulk encryption for SSL transactions. Essentially, the SA8250 is a

full-featured, SSL-enabled web server. Traditionally, these functions

are performed either at the server level, by web servers generally

providing SSL functionality by way of standalone software

components, or by embedded encryption software.

Benefit Description

Authenticity Verifies the identities of the two parties

Privacy None other than the transacting parties can access

the information being exchanged.

Integrity The message cannot be altered in transit between

the two parties by a third party without the

alteration being detected.

SSL Benefits