Glossary of Security Terms: Datagram Transport Layer Security

Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) is a protocol used to secure datagram-based communications. It's based on the stream-focused Transport Layer Security (TLS), providing a similar level of security. As a datagram protocol, DTLS doesn't guarantee the order of message delivery, or even that messages will be delivered at all. However, DTLS gains the benefits of datagram protocols, too; in particular, the lower overhead and reduced latency.

These features are especially useful for one of the most common areas in which DTLS comes into play: WebRTC. All of the WebRTC related protocols are required to encrypt their communications using DTLS; this includes SCTP, SRTP, and STUN.

Learn more

General knowledge

• Datagram Transport Layer Security on Wikipedia

Specifications

• RFC 6347: Datagram Transport Layer Security Version 1.2
• Datagram Transport Layer Security Protocol Version 1.3 draft specification

Related specifications

• RFC 5763: Framework for Establishing a Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) Security Context Using DTLS
• RFC 5764: DTLS Extension to Establish Keys for the Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP)
• RFC 6083: DTLS for Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
• RFC 8261: Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Encapsulation of SCTP Packets
• RFC 7350: Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) as Transport for Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN)
• RFC 7925: TLS / DTLS Profiles for the Internet of Things

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• Block cipher mode of operation
• Certificate authority
• Challenge-response authentication
• Cipher
• Cipher suite
• Ciphertext
• CORS
• CORS-safelisted request header
• CORS-safelisted response header
• Cross-site scripting
• Cryptanalysis
• Cryptographic hash function
• Cryptography
• CSP
• CSRF
• Decryption
• Digital certificate
• Encryption
• Forbidden header name
• Forbidden response header name
• Hash
• HMAC
• HPKP
• HSTS
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• Key
• MitM
• OWASP
• Preflight request
• Public-key cryptography
• Reporting directive
• Robots.txt
• Same-origin policy
• Session Hijacking
• SQL Injection
• Symmetric-key cryptography
• TOFU
• Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Credits

• Source: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/DTLS
• Published under Open CC Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license