Secure communication (explained)

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for secure communication over a computer network. In HTTPS, the communication protocol is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS), or its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

In XProtect VMS, secure communication is obtained by using TLS/SSL with asymmetric encryption (RSA).

TLS/SSL uses a pair of keys—one private, one public—to authenticate, secure, and manage secure connections.

A certificate authority (CA) is anyone who can issue root certificates. This can be an internet service that issues root certificates, or anyone who manually generates and distributes a certificate. A CA can issue certificates to web services, that is to any software using https communication. This certificate contains two keys, a private key and a public key. The public key is installed on the clients of a web service (service clients) by installing a public certificate. The private key is used for signing server certificates that must be installed on the server. Whenever a service client calls the web service, the web service sends the server certificate, including the public key, to the client. The service client can validate the server certificate using the already installed public CA certificate. The client and the server can now use the public and private server certificates to exchange a secret key and thereby establish a secure TLS/SSL connection.

For manually distributed certificates, certificates must be installed before the client can make such a verification.

See Transport Layer Security for more information about TLS.

Certificates have an expiry date. XProtect VMS will not warn you when a certificate is about to expire. If a certificate expires:
• The clients will no longer trust the recording server with the expired certificate and thus cannot communicate with it
• The recording servers will no longer trust the management server with the expired certificate and thus cannot communicate with it
• The mobile devices will no longer trust the mobile server with the expired certificate and thus cannot communicate with it

To renew the certificates, follow the steps in this guide as you did when you created certificates.

For more information, see the certificates guide about how to secure your XProtect VMS installations.