HTTPS je le HTTP, ki teče znotraj kanala, šifriranega s TLS. TLS (Transport Layer Security) vam da tri jamstva: confidentiality (promet je šifriran), integrity (ni ga mogoče neopazno spremeniti) in authentication (res se pogovarjate s strežnikom, imenovanim v certifikatu). Dogovori se v handshaku pred pošiljanjem kakršnega koli 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)
