Online hackers – they simply don’t give up. Just when you think you know all the tricks of their trade – email spam, fake wireless access points, and cookie theft among many others along they come with a new and audacious plan– a plan that takes everyone by surprise even the computer programmers and your own anti-virus software.
Computer hackers are the modern day equivalent of the identity thieves who go through rubbish in pursuit of old bank statements and credit card bills. They do it from the comfort of their own living rooms without getting their hands dirty, but essentially they are doing the same thing – gaining access to our bank details in order to commit fraud.
Encrypting Information
While anti-virus software is a powerful tool in the war against identity thieves, sometimes on their own they can’t guarantee protection. If you own a business for example that handles a lot of customers sensitive data you might want to think about investing in SSL encryption by getting an SSL certificate. SSL stands for secure sockets layer and is a form of security for sites that handle sensitive information such as customer names, phone numbers, addresses and credit card numbers.
It encrypts information so that it can only be read and understood by the intended parties. It means that if the information passed between the business and consumer is intercepted by a third party they will be unable to read it unless they have the right encryption key. SSL certificates make life imminently more difficult for the fraudster, while also helping to build trust with the consumer.
In order to meet Payment Card Industry compliance, an online business needs an SSL certificate with the proper encryption of at least 128-bit. PCI standards verify that the SSL certificate is from a trusted source, uses the right strength of encryption and provides a private connection on any page that requires customers to enter personal information. Without a certificate that meets these standards, a site won’t be able to take credit card payments.
Installing an SSL certificate
Depending on the type of SSL applied for, the organisation will need to go through differing levels of vetting. Once installed, it is possible to connect to the website over https://www.domain.com, as this tells the server to establish a secure connection with the browser. Once a secure connection is established, all web traffic between the web server and the web browser will be secure.
SOURCE : Safer surfing with an SSL certificate
