SSL / TLS: Transport Layer Security Protocol

TLS is based on the Secure Socket Layer (SSL), a protocol originally created by Netscape.
One advantage of TLS is that it is application protocol independent.
The TLS protocol runs above TCP/IP and below application protocols such as HTTP or IMAP.
The HTTP running on top of TLS or SSL is often called HTTPS.
Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol provides privacy and data integrity between two
communicating 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 (TCP) is the TLS Record Protocol.

DEFINITION of 'Secure Electronic Transaction - SET'

Secure electronic transaction (SET) was an early protocol for electronic credit card payments.
As the name implied, SET was used to facilitate the secure transmission of consumer credit
card information via electronic avenues, such as the Internet. SET blocked out the details of
credit card information, thus preventing merchants, hackers and electronic thieves from
accessing this information.
How Secure Electronic Transaction Protocols were Used
The underlying protocols and standards for secure electronic transactions were backed and
supported by Microsoft, IBM, MasterCard, Visa, Netscape, and others. Digital certificates were
assigned to provide the electronic access to funds, whether it was a credit line or bank account.
When a purchase was made electronically, encrypted digital certificates were what let the
customer, merchant, and financial institution complete a verified transaction. Digital certificates
were generated for participants in the transaction, along with matching digital keys that allowed
them to confirm the certificates of the other party.

The algorithms used would ensure that only a party with the corresponding digital key would be
able to confirm the transaction. This way a consumer’s credit card or bank account could be
used without revealing details such as the account number. Thus, SET was a form of security
against account theft, hacking, and other criminal actions.

What encouraged the development of Secure Electronic Transaction

Protocols
The development of SET came in response to the emergence and growth of e-commerce
transactions over networks, especially consumer-driven purchases over the Internet.
Conducting business online was a new, untamed frontier in the mid to late 1990s, and the same
could be said of the varying degrees of security available across the developing networks. The
protocols defined by the secure electronic transaction standards allowed for payment systems
to be developed and used retailers and financial institutions. Merchants and financial institutions
needed to have the appropriate software to properly decrypt and process the digital
transactions.