• Secure Mobile Access
• About this Guide
  • Organization of this Guide
  • Guide Conventions
• About SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
  • About the SMA Appliance
  • Key SSL VPN Concepts and SMA Features
    • Resources
    • Users and Groups
    • Authentication
    • Communities
    • Access Policy
    • End Point Control (EPC)
    • SSL/TLS and Encryption
    • Single Sign-On
    • Sharing Configuration Data
    • Role-based Administration
    • System Monitoring and Logging
  • SonicWall SMA Components
    • Client Components and Access Methods
      • WorkPlace
      • Network Explorer
      • Connect Tunnel Clients
      • Mobile Connect App
      • Translated Web Access
      • Custom Port Mapping
      • Custom FQDN Mapping
    • End Point Control Components
    • Administrator Components
      • Setup Wizard
      • Appliance Management Console (AMC)
      • Access Services
  • Managing Multiple Appliances
    • Central Management Server
    • Global Traffic Optimizer
• Planning Your VPN
  • About Designing Your VPN
    • Who Will Access Your VPN?
    • Which Types of Resources Should Users Have Access To?
      • How Will Users Access Your Resources?
      • Tunnel, Proxy, or Web: Which Access Method is Best?
    • Security Administration
      • Defining Resources
        • Web Resources
        • Client/Server Resources
        • File Shares
      • Managing Access Control with an Access Policy
      • Access Control for Bi-Directional Connections
      • Design Guidelines for Access Rules
  • End Point Control
    • Advanced EPC
  • Putting It All Together: Using Realms and Communities
• Common VPN Configurations
  • About the Configurations
  • Deployment Scenario: Remote Access for Employees and Partners
    • Establishing an Authentication Realm
    • Identifying Users
    • Adding Resources
    • Creating Zones of Trust
      • Creating a Device Zone for Trusted Users
      • Creating a Device Zone for Partners
      • Creating a Quarantine Zone for Untrusted Users
  • Customizing WorkPlace
    • Modifying the Default Style and Layout
    • Creating a New WorkPlace Style and Layout
      • Creating a WorkPlace Style
      • Creating a Workplace Layout
    • Creating an Employee Community
      • Specifying Access Methods for Employees
      • Configuring End Point Control for Employees
      • Configuring the WorkPlace Appearance for Employees
    • Creating a Partner Community
      • Specifying an Access Method for Partners
      • Configuring End Point Control for Partners
      • Configuring WorkPlace Appearance for Partners
    • Access Control Lists
      • Adding a Rule for Limited Resources
      • Adding an Unrestricted Rule
  • Testing the Deployment Scenario
  • Other Remote Access VPN Scenarios
    • Providing Access to Web Resources
      • Defining Specific Web Resources
      • Web Resources on a Portion of Your Network
      • All Web Resources on Your Network
    • Web-Based File Access to Entire Networks
    • Broad Access to Network Resources
    • Remote Access for Mobile Users
  • Additional Partner VPN Scenarios
    • Access to a Specific Web Resource Using an Alias
    • Web-Based Access to a Client/Server Application
  • End Point Control Scenarios
    • Quarantining Employees on Untrusted Systems
    • Denying Access
  • Access Policy Scenarios
  • Application-Specific Scenarios
    • Providing Access to Outlook Web Access (OWA)
    • Providing Access to Voice Over IP (VoIP)
    • Providing Access to Windows Terminal Services or Citrix Resources
  • Authentication Scenarios
    • Using Multiple Realms vs Single Realm
  • Access Component Provisioning
    • Deploying the Same Agents to All Users
    • Deploying Different Agents to Different Users
• SonicWall Support
  • About This Document

SSL/TLS and Encryption

The SonicWall SMA appliance encrypts information using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. SSL protocol is an authentication and encryption protocol that uses a key exchange method to establish a secure environment in which all data exchanged is encrypted to protect it from eavesdropping and alteration.

SMA has been enhanced to support TLS 1.3 for incoming and outgoing connections, which is the latest and more secure TLS version.

The appliance uses SSL certificates to validate the appliance’s identity to connecting users, and to provide a public key to secure information that the client computer sends to the server. The appliance requires a SSL certificate:

• The appliance services use a certificate to secure user traffic.
• The Appliance Management Console (AMC) uses a certificate to secure management traffic.

There are three types of certificates: Self-signed, Lets Encrypt, and Commercial. With a self-signed SSL certificate, the appliance identifies itself with a certificate that has not been signed by a commercial CA, and the associated private key data is encrypted using a password. AMC and default appliance certificates are self-signed by default.

A self-signed SSL certificate is insecure, you are recommended to secure user traffic with a certificate from a commercial certificate authority (CA) such as VeriSign or Lets Encrypt. For more details on the Lets Encrypt, refer to SMA 12.4 Administration Guide.