Most of us make use of the internet dozens of times a day.  Whether we’re checking a bank balance, shopping for an item, looking for directions, or just trying to find a movie to catch that evening, the internet is everywhere in our lives.  As the internet has grown to cover most facets of our daily lives, there has been a corresponding growth in concern about privacy.  With this increased focus and attention on privacy, many companies with digital entry points (such as websites or mobile apps) have begun to expand their use of SSL in order to secure their communications. 

What is SSL?  SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it is an encryption protocol that is used to secure communications between two digital endpoints.  Most of us recognize SSL through our browsers, as web addresses that start with “HTTPS://” are using SSL to encrypt the traffic between the client machine and the web server.  Current browsers and mobile apps even include a small padlock icon to let users know that their communications are secure.

In the early days of e-commerce and the burgeoning internet, SSL was used to protect credit card information.  As companies have expanded their web presence, SSL has grown to include any page that accepts a password, and any portion of the site that is “behind” that password protection.  Privacy standards have driven the use of SSL to cover more and more communication, as customers want to protect not only financial information but also general personal identifying information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

In ASPEN, SSL had previously only been used to secure credit card information.  The communication with ChargeItPro is and has been secure behind-the-scenes, so there is no concern for either you or your customers with regards to credit card security.  This security and the solid partnership with ChargeItPro have allowed ASPEN to remain PCI compliant.

With the 8.1 release of ASPEN, Charter has expanded the use of SSL to include AIM and the Customer Portal.  Hosted customers already have this secure communication enabled. With upcoming releases of ASPEN, Charter will continue to expand the availability of SSL to include all communications between clients and servers in the ASPEN domain.  This is just one way that we are working to provide the best, most secure experience for our valued ASPEN customers.