Which statement is true about SSL in practice?

Which statement is true about SSL in practice?

• A. It is used to secure data in transit over the Internet
• B. It is a method for local file encryption only
• C. It encrypts data during transmission using certificates
• D. It is used only for email encryption

Answer: (C)

SSL/TLS protects data as it moves between a client and a server by creating a secure channel. It does this through a handshake that uses certificates to prove identity and establish trust, after which a session key is used to encrypt all transmitted data. That combination—certificates for authentication and key exchange, plus encryption of the ongoing transmission with a session key—captures what SSL is doing in practice. It’s not about encrypting local files or being limited to email; those are separate functions. The essential point is that data during transmission is encrypted with keys negotiated securely thanks to certificates.

SSL/TLS protects data as it moves between a client and a server by creating a secure channel. It does this through a handshake that uses certificates to prove identity and establish trust, after which a session key is used to encrypt all transmitted data. That combination—certificates for authentication and key exchange, plus encryption of the ongoing transmission with a session key—captures what SSL is doing in practice. It’s not about encrypting local files or being limited to email; those are separate functions. The essential point is that data during transmission is encrypted with keys negotiated securely thanks to certificates.