{"id":650,"date":"2019-09-04T17:53:49","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T17:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/p\/?p=650"},"modified":"2021-09-23T05:42:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T05:42:31","slug":"128-bit-vs-256-bit-ssl-the-technical-difference-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/p\/128-bit-vs-256-bit-ssl-the-technical-difference-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"128 Bit vs 256 Bit SSL: The Technical Difference Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since you\u2019re here, we assume that you\u2019ve been shopping around and looking at different SSL certificates<\/a> to see what the best option would be for your domain or domains. Congratulations! That means either you care about the security and integrity of your site and data \u2014 or it means that you know Google has essentially made SSL a requirement for websites to not be marked as \u201cNot Secure.\u201d Either way, we\u2019re just glad you\u2019re here.<\/p>\n

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Something you likely noticed during this investigation process is that there are different levels of encryption strength that you can choose from, including 128 bit vs 256 bit. But what do these numbers and terms actually mean in terms of security? And how do you know what\u2019s better for your website?<\/p>\n

Sit back and get comfortable \u2014 we\u2019re gonna break it down for you.<\/p>\n

How Encryption Works \u2014 In a Nutshell<\/h2>\n

Before we can get into the nitty-gritty of encryption, we first need to make sure that you understand that the type of SSL certificate you purchase doesn\u2019t dictate the strength of your encryption.<\/strong> All SSL certificates, regardless of type, facilitate the same level of encryption across the board. The true determining factor of your encryption strength depends on other factors, including your server configuration and the capabilities of the client\u2019s (end user\u2019s) browser.<\/p>\n

Okay, now that that\u2019s out of the way, let\u2019s quickly recap how encryption works<\/a>: When you encrypt something, it means that you\u2019re taking readable, unencrypted data (known as plaintext), and are using an algorithm or cipher to convert it into encrypted data (known as ciphertext). The algorithm or cipher is known as a private key \u2014 something that needs to be kept secret in most cases (with the exception of public key) to protect its viability and security.<\/p>\n

Security Claim vs Security Level When It Comes to 128 vs 256 bit Certificates<\/h3>\n

256 bit SSL encryption means a technique of public key infrastructure (PKI) that uses a 256 bit long key to encrypt and decrypt the data that is transmitted between the client and the server.\u00a0On the other hand, 128 bit encryption SSL security refers to an encryption key strength of 128 bit key.<\/p>\n

So, this means that when a company tries to sell you a \u201c256-bit SSL certificate,\u201d what that translates into is that they\u2019re selling you a certificate that has a key with the capability of facilitating encrypted connections up to 256 bits<\/em>. It\u2019s a security claim<\/em> \u2014 what the algorithm or hash (known as a cryptographic primitive) was designed to achieve \u2014 versus the actual security level<\/em> of the encryption \u2014 what the cryptographic primitive actually offers. This is a very important distinction.<\/p>\n

128 bit SSL protection is secure till today but it won\u2019t be like that forever. Hence, diverting our encryption to 256 bit encryption for a more secure future.<\/p>\n

So\u2026 Just How Strong is 256-Bit Encryption, Really?<\/h2>\n

The answer to this question isn\u2019t clear-cut and differs depending on the context \u2014 it could be referring to encryption strength level or it could be referring to key size. Furthermore, the answer also depends on which type of encryption algorithm you\u2019re using \u2014 asymmetric vs symmetric.<\/p>\n