Fragmentation, Compression, MAC, Encryption, and Transmission in SSL Protocol

C.

The SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol is used to provide a secure communication channel over the internet. The SSL protocol uses several sub-protocols to establish and maintain the secure communication channel. One of these sub-protocols is the SSL Record Protocol.

The SSL Record Protocol is responsible for taking an application message to be transmitted, fragmenting the data into manageable blocks, optionally compressing the data, applying a MAC (Message Authentication Code), encrypting the data, adding a header, and transmitting the resulting unit in a TCP segment.

The SSL Record Protocol operates at the highest level of the SSL protocol stack and is responsible for the end-to-end transmission of SSL messages. The SSL Record Protocol ensures that the data transmitted between the client and server is secure and tamper-proof.

The SSL Record Protocol uses a block cipher algorithm for encryption, and the length of the encryption key depends on the cipher suite negotiated between the client and server during the SSL Handshake Protocol. The SSL Record Protocol also provides support for data compression, which can reduce the amount of data transmitted over the network and improve performance.

In summary, the SSL Record Protocol takes an application message, encrypts it, and adds a header to create a SSL record. This record is then transmitted over the network in a TCP segment. The SSL Record Protocol is a crucial part of the SSL protocol stack and is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of the data transmitted between the client and server.