HTTPS huwa sempliċiment HTTP li jaħdem ġewwa channel ikkriptat bit-TLS. TLS (Transport Layer Security) jagħtik tliet garanziji: confidentiality (it-traffiku huwa ikkriptat), integrity (ma jistax jiġi mbagħbas mingħajr ma jinstab), u authentication (tabilħaqq qed titkellem mas-server imsemmi fiċ-ċertifikat). Jiġi nnegozjat f'handshake qabel jintbagħat kwalunkwe 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)
