When you access a website, your browser will initiate a process called a “certificate exchange” to establish a secure connection with the website. This process is critical to ensuring that the website you are accessing is the legitimate one and that your information is protected as it is transmitted between your browser and the website.
The certificate exchange process begins when your browser sends a request to the website’s server. The server responds by sending a digital certificate, which is a small file that contains information about the website, such as its name and the organization that operates it. The certificate also contains the website’s public key, which is used to encrypt the information that is sent between your browser and the server.
Your browser will then verify the authenticity of the certificate by checking it against a list of trusted certificate authorities. A certificate authority (CA) is an organization that is trusted to issue digital certificates for websites. If the certificate is valid and has been issued by a trusted CA, your browser will establish a secure connection with the website.
Once the secure connection is established, your browser will send a second request to the server, this time including the public key of the website in the request. The server will use this key to encrypt the information that it sends back to your browser. This ensures that the information is protected as it is transmitted between your browser and the server.
In summary, a certificate exchange is a process that occurs when you access a website, which is designed to ensure that the website you are accessing is legitimate and that your information is protected as it is transmitted between your browser and the website. The exchange involves your browser sending a request to the website’s server, which responds by sending a digital certificate. Your browser will then verify the authenticity of the certificate and establish a secure connection with the website using the public key of the website.