Understand Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security

Introduction

The Understand Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security module provides you with the instruction and computer hardware to develop your hands on skills in the defined topics. This module includes the following exercises:

• Configuring FTP
• Configuring FTP Authentication
• Configuring Certificate Security
• Testing Certificate Security
• Configuring Secure FTP

Exercise 1 - Configuring FTP

Digital certificates allow a server to be securely identified and to open an encrypted communications channel with clients, for the secure exchange of confidential information such as credit card details.

A certificate can authenticate a client or user as part of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). In PKI, a Certificate Authority (CA) validates the identity of subjects (users and servers) and issues them a certificate. If clients trust the CA certificate, they can be reassured that they are contacting a genuine resource.

In this exercise, you will investigate Windows' Certificate Services as an example of a CA.

Exercise 2 - Configuring FTP Authentication

You can configure password security on an FTP site, but it does not make it secure against eavesdroppers with access to the local network.

Exercise 3 - Configuring Certificate Security

In order to secure transmissions against eavesdropping, you can configure SSL (TLS). This requires setting up certificate services and configuring the site with a certificate.

Having the CA root certificate installed on the web server really is not a secure configuration but we will ignore that for this exercise.

Exercise 4 - Testing Certificate Security

In this exercise, you will browse the site using the secure connection.

Exercise 5 - Configuring Secure FTP

In this exercise, you will configure the FTP server to use SSL.