Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security protocol that establishes an encrypted connection between a web server and a web browser. SSL certificates must be installed on a company’s or organization’s website in order to safeguard online transactions and keep consumer information private and secure. Furthermore, it is quite essential to make sure that your ssl is secured. Therefore, here are some of the best tips to make sure your SSL is secured:
- Test your SSL server online
You may assess your SSL security posture, including SSL server settings, certificate chain, protocol and cypher suite support, and look for known flaws like the renegotiation issue.
- Extended Validation (EV) certificates should be used
Although EV certificates are not required for site security, they provide visual proof in most browser address bars that visitors have completed a secure SSL connection to your site and have not been routed to a phishing site. Only after a certificate authority has taken extensive efforts to verify your identity and that you own or control the domain name for which the certificate is being issued are EV certificates granted.
- Use the HttpOnly and Secure flags to protect cookies
Cookies used for authentication during an SSL connection can be exploited to undermine the SSL security of the session. The HttpOnly value makes the cookies you issue invisible to client-side scripts, preventing them from being stolen via cross-site scripting attacks, while the Secure flag restricts the cookie’s transmission to an encrypted SSL connection, preventing it from being intercepted.
- Protect your domains with HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
When your website is protected using HSTS, all links to the site are automatically transformed from http to https after the first visit, and users are unable to access the site again until it is confirmed by a legitimate, non-self-signed certificate. That means hackers won’t be able to trick your users into visiting a phishing site they control via an unsafe link.
- On your web sites, do not mix SSL secured content with plaintext
Because a single unprotected resource like Javascript might be exploited to insert malicious code or lead to a man-in-the-middle attack, mixed content can lead to your site being hacked.
- Ensure that all authentication phases are carried out via SSL.
It is critical to protect your users’ credentials, which involves delivering your login form over an SSL connection and encrypting their credentials when they are submitted to you. If you do not do this, hackers will be able to intercept your form and replace it with a malicious, unsecure one that sends users’ credentials to their own servers.
- Check to see whether your server supports unsecured renegotiation.
A man-in-the-middle exploiting the SSL and TLS Authentication Gap vulnerability can utilise renegotiation to introduce arbitrary material into an encrypted communication stream. Most major vendors have released fixes for this vulnerability, so if you haven’t already, make it a priority to implement secure renegotiation or deactivate insecure renegotiation
