HTTPS ni HTTP tu inayoendesha ndani ya channel iliyofichwa kwa TLS. TLS (Transport Layer Security) hukupa uhakikisho tatu: confidentiality (trafiki imefichwa), integrity (haiwezi kubadilishwa bila kugunduliwa), na authentication (kweli unaongea na server iliyotajwa kwenye certificate). Hujadiliwa kwenye handshake kabla ya HTTP yoyote kutumwa:
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)
