This part of the book examines the underlying technology that makes up today’s World Wide Web and the Internet in general.

Chapter 1 looks at the basics of web security—the risks inherent in running a web server, in using the Web to distribute information or services, and finally, the risks of being a user on the Internet.

Chapter 2 is a detailed exploration of computers, communications links, and protocols that make up the Web. It provides a technical introduction to the systems that will be discussed throughout the rest of the book and that underlie web security concepts.

Chapter 3 introduces the science and mathematics of cryptography, with a particular emphasis on public key encryption.

Chapter 4 specifically looks at the encryption algorithms that are used on the Web today.

Chapter 5 looks more closely at the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) system that are used by “secure” web servers.

Chapter 6 introduces the topic of authentication and gives an overview of several classes of authentication systems in use on the Internet.

Chapter 7 focuses on the use of digital certificates for authentication and introduces certification authorities (CAs) and the public key infrastructure (PKI).