Given the recent problems with SSL certificates provided by third-party companies, one has to wonder why we place all this trust in these vendors. We allow them to process and produce "trusted" certificates for our websites, but in the end even Google, Microsoft and state and federal governments are falling victim to fraud.

With all the publicity about breaches of SSL certificate authorities and a hack that exploits a vulnerability in the supposedly secure protocol, it's time to consider something else to protect Internet transactions. If only there were something else to turn to.

SSL/TLS, the protocol that protects security of e-commerce, has taken a beating lately, with news items ranging from the violation of certificate authorities to the discovery of an exploit that beats the protocol itself.

SSL, the encryption scheme that protects virtually all secure online transaction, requires that users rely on trusted third parties, but what if they can't be trusted?

Researchers have found a cheaper, faster way to process SSL/TLS with off-the-shelf hardware, a development that could let more Web sites shut down cyber threats posed by the likes of the Firesheep hijacking tool.