Chapter 8: Managing Microsoft Certificate Services and SSL

Overview

The focus of the previous chapter was on Web server security. This chapter shows how you can extend Web server security using Microsoft Certificate Services and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Certificate Services and SSL provide an extra layer of security to your Web server.

You use Certificate Services and SSL to protect sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or payment information. Certificate Services and SSL protect sensitive information by encrypting the data sent between client browsers and your server. Encryption is the process of encoding information using a mathematical algorithm that makes it difficult for anyone other than the intended recipient to view the original information.

Internet Information Services (IIS) transfers encrypted data to a client browser using the SSL protocol. With SSL, servers and clients can use certificates to provide proof of identity prior to establishing a secure connection. Once a connection is established, clients and servers use the secure SSL channel to transfer information. This information is encrypted using a technique that the clients and servers can interpret to extract the original information.