To understand what SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm) Compliance is, you must first start with what SHA-256 is. If your website uses SSL Encryption to allow for secure connections from users over the internet, it requires a signature that verifies the identity of the website, much like how your signature is used to verify your own identity.
The level of security provided by your SSL certificate is limited by how difficult it is to decrypt and counterfeit the identity of your website. SHA-256 is a specific method of encryption that is commonly used from the SHA-2 family of cryptography. SHA-2 encryption defines six different methods of encryption, each one defined primarily by the number of bits used to encrypt: SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, SHA-512/224, SHA-512/256
SHA-2 or SHA-256 compliance can refer to 3 things:
- Server/OS Compliance: A server or operating system that supports SHA-2
Note: All HostGator servers are SHA-2 compliant and fully support SHA-256 connections required by providers such as PayPal.
- Browser Compliance: The capability of the web browser to visit SHA-2 encrypted pages
- SSL Encryption: Whether or not an SSL is encrypted with an SHA-2 signature.