HTTPS yra tiesiog HTTP, veikiantis TLS šifruotame kanale. TLS (Transport Layer Security) suteikia tris garantijas: confidentiality (srautas šifruotas), integrity (jo negalima nepastebimai suklastoti) ir authentication (tikrai kalbatės su serveriu, įvardytu certifikate). Jis suderamas per handshake prieš siunčiant bet kokį HTTP:
Client Server
│──── ClientHello ──────────────────────▶│ (TLS versions, cipher suites, random)
│◀─── ServerHello + Certificate ─────────│ (chosen cipher + cert with public key)
│ │
│ verify cert against a trusted CA │
│ agree on keys (e.g. ECDHE key exchange)│
│ │
│──── Finished (encrypted) ──────────────▶│
│◀─── Finished (encrypted) ───────────────│
│========= encrypted application data ====│ (now HTTP flows, encrypted)
