A startup is pushing a protocol based on Secure Sockets Layer encryption that enables Web applications to securely authenticate each other before mashing up.

The company, SafeMashups, is taking on a problem others have tried to solve using proprietary cryptography.  Rather than take that approach, SafeMashups is using its MashSSL protocol—based on the time-tested cryptography of SSL—to enable applications to mutually authenticate via secure communication through the browser.

The company’s MashSSL standard has been designed to be implemented in RESTful fashion to optimize Web application interactions. With that as a foundation, the company is offering the MashSSL Web Toolkit, which enables developers to integrate MashSSL into any application, as well as the free SafeMashups Community service, which allows organizations to maintain lists of partners and applications they are willing to mash with.

“As a cryptographer, I can tell you that the only good crypto is really old crypto,” said Ravi Ganesan, CEO of SafeMashups. “Unfortunately it’s not a science; it’s an art. And the only way we know to trust protocol is [if] a lot of smart people have looked at it for five, 10 years and not been able to break it.”

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