Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, was an early transport layer security protocol. The Netscape Corporation wanted the ability to encrypt traffic between web servers and their spiffy new graphical browser, so in 1994 they created the primordial SSL and let a small group of people test it. It sort of worked and it let the testers experiment with ecommerce, but as with any protocol designed by a single institution it had numerous flaws. In 1995, Netscape hurriedly released the slightly more robust SSL version 2, followed by version 3 in 1996. Despite this quick succession of versions, SSL’s core cryptographic design was intrinsically and irreparably flawed. The IETF released version 1 of Transport Layer Security, or TLS, in 1999. It’s a direct descendant of SSL version 3, but the name was changed for political reasons. TLS 1.1 escaped in 2006, 1.2 in 2008, and 1.3 in 2018.

— TLS Mastery de Michael W Lucas (Page 21)