What is TLS and Why Does It Matter?
Imagine you’re sending a letter to a friend, but you’re worried about someone intercepting it and reading your private messages. In the digital world, this concern is real, especially when we send sensitive information like passwords, bank details, or personal messages over the internet. This is where TLS, or Transport Layer Security, comes in. It’s a technology that encrypts your data, turning it into a scrambled format that only the intended recipient can read. This way, even if someone intercepts the data, they won’t be able to understand it.
TLS is like having a lock on your letterbox that only you and your friend have the key to. It ensures that the information shared between your computer and the websites or services you use remains private and secure.
Now, why is this important? Without TLS, anyone with the right tools could potentially intercept and read your private data. TLS keeps your information safe, whether you’re shopping online, accessing your bank account, or just browsing the web. As technology evolves, so do the methods that hackers use to break into this secure system. That’s why updating to the latest version of TLS is crucial—it patches vulnerabilities and strengthens security.
Deprecation of TLS 1.0 and 1.1
At Helm, security is a top priority. Last summer, we notified our customers that we were ending our support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 on January 15, 2025, and would require all integrations with Helm CONNECT and the Helm CONNECT API to be secured using TLS 1.2 or later. This change was necessary in order to enhance security and continue providing best-in-class encryption for our customers’ data, and it was important that customers who had built custom interfaces or had report data linked to systems outside Helm CONNECT, such as Power BI or Excel, transitioned to TLS 1.2 or later to ensure the integrations they’d built continued working.
How We Upgraded Our Integrations
Our team also undertook a massive project to update all the Helm CONNECT integrations that we built for our customers to be compatible with the newest version of TLS. This update ensures that all the data exchanged between our systems and our users remains protected against the latest threats.
Here’s how we did it:
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Assessment and Planning: We started by auditing all our existing Helm CONNECT integrations to identify which ones needed updates. This step was crucial because our integrations touch various parts of our system and interact with your numerous third-party services.
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Development and Testing: Once we identified the necessary updates, our team of developers got to work. They updated the underlying code to support the newest TLS version. After development, they performed rigorous testing to ensure that everything functioned smoothly and securely.
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Deployment: After thorough testing, we rolled out the updates. This process was done in stages to minimize any potential disruption, and each phase was closely monitored so we could immediately address any unexpected challenges.
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Continuous Monitoring and Upgrading: Our work doesn’t stop after deployment. We have systems in place to continuously monitor our integrations for any security vulnerabilities or performance issues. We also stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in technology and security standards. This proactive approach ensures that we can quickly adapt and upgrade whenever necessary.
Staying Ahead in a Constantly Evolving Landscape
At Helm, security is not a one-time effort; it’s an ongoing commitment. The digital world evolves rapidly, and so do the threats. By staying vigilant and continuously upgrading our systems, we ensure that our users’ data remains secure. Our commitment to security and innovation is part of our promise to provide the best and safest experience possible.
So, whether you’re a tech-savvy user or someone who just wants to know their data is safe, you can trust that we’re always working behind the scenes to protect your information. This recent upgrade of our integrations to the newest version of TLS is just one of many steps we take to ensure your online interactions with us are secure and private.
