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A cryptographic protocol is a way to securely exchange data over a computer network. The data that is exchanged isencrypted. In general, these protocols consist of away to exchange encryption keys, The data is then encrypted usingsymmetric orasymmetric cryptography. Symmetric cryptography is used more often.
Common protocols include:
A cryptographic protocol usually has at least some of these features:
Thetermcryptographic protocol is used in different ways. For example, cryptographicapplication protocols often use one or more underlyingKey-agreement protocols which are also sometimes themselves referred to as "cryptographic protocols", like theSecure Sockets Layer (SSL) which uses what is known as theDiffie-Hellman key exchange, Diffie-Hellman may be seen as a completecryptographic protocol in itself for other applications.