Mechanics: Encryption

In this lesson, we'll continue our discussion of HTTPS mechanics with how encryption works.

Why encryption?

We’re halfway to securing the communication between you and your partner. Now that we’ve solved authentication (verifying the identity of the caller) we need to make sure we can communicate safely without others eavesdropping in the process. As I mentioned, you’re right in the middle of a meeting and need to spell your online banking password. You need to find a way to encrypt your communication so that only you and your partner will be able to understand your conversation.

Encryption via shared secret

You can do this by establishing a shared secret between the two of you, and encrypt messages through that secret. You could, for example, decide to use a variation of the Caesar cipher based on the date of your wedding.

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