Is 256-bit SSL Encryption any Safe?

In a short and quick answer? - Yes. 256 bit SSL encryption (AES) is considered a safe encryption strength. It’s actually the standard when it comes to website security. But what does "256-bit encryption" actually mean and what kind of security does it provide? — is it safe?

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What is 256-bit SSL Encryption?

A 256 bit SSL encryption is a technique that uses a 256-bit key to encrypt and decrypt the data transferred between the client and the server. ( The most modern forms of algorithms and protocols, including SSL and AES, uses 256-bit encryption for generating private and public security keys.

Encryption — the process of taking plaintext data and using an algorithm (also known as a cipher) to scramble it into an unrecognizable form known as a ciphertext — requires the use of encryption keys, which come in different sizes.

So, when we talk about 256-bit encryption strength, it refers to both the length of the algorithm’s key that’s used to encrypt the data and its resistance to attacks. The larger the algorithm key size, the more difficult it is to crack using brute-force attacks. Imagine; there are 10,000 possible passcodes, from 0000 to 9999 with a 4-digit phone passcode. On average, you’ll need to try half the possible passcodes before you guess it right.

What this means is that it requires 2²⁵⁶ possible combinations for cybercriminals to hack. Every exponent multiplies the number — in this case, doubles it — 256 times. This means 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2… and so on and so forth. Resulting of 1.157920892373163e+77 possible combinations.

115,792,089,237,316,195,423,570,985,008,687,907,853,269,984,665,640,564,039,457,584,007,913,129,639,936 possible combinations that you’d have to go through and start guessing one by one.
To decrypt a ciphertext that’s encrypted with 256-bit encryption without the corresponding private key, it would take 3.31 x 10⁵⁶ years!

Breaking the Code: ... totally out of reach.

As we saw earlier, 1.157920892373163e77 is a lot of numbers to try.
Scientists have stated that with the right quantum computer, it would take about 2.29*10^32 years to crack. That is trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years. Simply impossible with today’s technology. And, considering that SSL/TLS certificates only have a one- to two-year lifespan — Google wants to cut it from 825 to 397 days — it means that many new certificates would be issued before a hacker would ever be able to crack 🤓.
Even if you were able to dramatically cut this time down, there will be a relatively simple way to keep the system secure: cut down the deadline for certificates expiring. So, with all this in mind, cracking a 256-bit SSL encryption is just impossible. It would take too long to try and cost too much money. So as hackers fail to break the SSL Certificates, they try to find vulnerabilities in other areas that are related to the SSL Certificate. The most common server vulnerabilities that are related to SSL Certificates are Heartbleed, BREACH, BEAST. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to bypass the strength of an SSL Certificate.

Also, remember, that the encryption strength you achieve with an SSL/TLS protocol depends on the capabilities of both the browser and server and how they’re configured. In some cases, 256-bit encryption may only provide a security level of 128 bits. So, if your server and the client’s browser are properly configured and capable of handling 256-bit encryption, then you can relax with the knowledge that any information passing between the two is as secure as possible.