Cryptography and associated cryptographic protocols

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is now superseded by Transport Layer Security (TLS), with the latest version being TLS 1.3 which was released in August 2018. 

Microsoft announced in October 2014 that that it will disable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.0 support in its Internet Explorer browser and in its Online Services, from Dec. 1, 2014.

Accordingly SSL is no longer an approved cryptographic protocol and it SHOULD be replaced by TLS.

TLS is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocol, first defined in 1999, updated in RFC 5246 (August 2008) and RFC 6176 (March 2011).  It is based on the earlier SSL specifications (1994, 1995, 1996) developed by Netscape Communications for adding the HTTPS protocol to their Navigator web browser. 

In practical terms many of the the major browsers and websites no longer permit the use of SSL or limit functionality where the use of SSL is detected.

GCSB had previously encouraged the use of SHA-384, and as of December 2018 use of SHA-384 has become a control in the NZISM.