secure HTTP (Internet) (S-HTTP)

Secure HTTP (S-HTTP or HTTPS) is a secure protocol for communication between web browsers and web servers.

The security protocol is located on the application layer and supports security-relevant aspects such as authentication, encryption, identification and digital signature.

For secure transmission, S-HTTP uses Secure Socket Layer( SSL). In terms of encryption method, S-HTTP is flexible, supporting Data Encryption Standard( DES), 3DES, International Data Encryption Algorithm( IDEA) and Rivest Cipher 2( RC2).

Secure HTTP was specified by the Internet Engineering Task Force( IETF) and is described in RFC 2660.