Which of the following statements pertaining to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is FALSE?

A.
The SSL protocol was developed by Netscape to secure Internet client-server transactions.

B.
The SSL protocol’s primary use is to authenticate the client to the server using public key cryptography and
digital certificates.

C.
Web pages using the SSL protocol start with HTTPS

D.
SSL can be used with applications such as Telnet, FTP and email protocols.

Explanation:
The SSL protocol was developed by Netscape in 1994 to secure Internet client-server transactions. The SSL
protocol authenticates the server to the client using public key cryptography and digital certificates. In addition,
this protocol also provides for optional client to server authentication. It supports the use of RSA public key
algorithms, IDEA, DES and 3DES private key algorithms, and the MD5 hash function. Web pages using the
SSL protocol start with HTTPs. SSL 3.0 and its successor, the Transaction Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 protocol
are de-facto standards, but they do not provide the end-to-end capabilities of SET. TLS implements
confidentiality, authentication, and integrity above the Transport Layer, and it resides between the application
and TCP layer. Thus, TLS, as with SSL, can be used with applications such as Telnet, FTP, HTTP, and email
protocols. Both SSL and TLS use certificates for public key verification that are based on the X.509 standard.
Incorrect Answers:
A: It is true that the SSL protocol was developed by Netscape to secure Internet client-server transactions.
C: It is true that Web pages using the SSL protocol start with HTTPS.
D: It is true that SSL can be used with applications such as Telnet, FTP and email protocols.

Krutz, Ronald L. and Russel Dean Vines, The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer
Security, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2001, p. 160