What is Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol?

Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP) in an extended version of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that uses Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS) algorithm to ensure secure transit of information on the World Wide Web. Introduced in the year 1999 by Eric Rescorla and Allan M. Schiffman, S-HTTP possesses the capability to ensure various type of security as per the business demand.

Each S-HTTP message is encrypted or includes a certificate, and in some cases protect data and information against unethical attempts. It is quite similar to one of the known security protocol – Secure Sockets layer (SSL). However, these two are different in multitude of ways. One of the major differences between the two is – In SSL, only the server can be authenticated whereas the later allows verifying the user by sending a certificate.

Broadly, web browsers make use of HTTP to share and receive information with web servers. Companies into serious business that includes sensitive data and financial transactions need stringent protection against vulnerabilities. To address the same, S-HTTP was introduced.