SSL Glossary

S2

Signature

Signature is a unique and distinct pattern that is used to detect a virus infection or system penetration (see intrusion detection system), or as a "Digital ID" for SSL secure systems. The digital signature can be a permanently set string of bytes, or it can also be more complex and algorithmically based, as with a secure socket layer. ID Signatures for secure server system penetration are by and large much more complex and can even include the comparison of many different types of data in a security audit with logging.

Single sign-on

Single sign-on is a system, process or procedure in which a user is authenticated on one occasion, giving them access to a lot of disparate systems from that time on. It is like secure authentication or secure SSL authentication that only has to be done a single time.

Super-User

Super-User is a user with full, unlimited and unrestricted access to each and every portion and resource of the system, such as the PKI Manager who administers and manages SSL Certificate duties on a large network.

Symmetric Key Encryption

Private key encryption, or "symmetric key encryption" uses the exact same, private key for both encryption and decryption. The key is shored amid the both parties as the factor for the communication. Symmetric key systems do not have to have a public key infrastructure (PKI) the way that asymmetric key encryption has to, but it does have to have a key to exchange through a channel that is secure, unlike other kinds of 128-bit encryption with SSL.

System Integrity

The condition an SSL secure server is in when it executes its intended operation in an unimpaired manner, free from advertent or inadvertent unauthorized manipulation of the system.