The TLS Working Group was established in 1996 to standardize a 'transport layer' security protocol. The working group began with SSL version 3.0. The TLS Working Group has completed a series of specifications that describe the Transport Layer Security protocol versions 1.0 and 1.1, extensions to the protocol, and new ciphersuites to be used with TLS. The primary goal of the WG is to publish a revision of TLS, version 1.2, that removes the protocol's dependency on the MD5 and SHA-1 digest algorithms, which have been either wholly or partially compromised by recent research. The TLS WG will also work on new authenticated encryption modes for TLS, including modes based on counter mode encryption (CTR) and combined encryption/authentication modes, and may define major new cipher suites for TLS for this purpose. In the preparation of TLS 1.2, the WG will attempt to avoid gratuitous changes to TLS 1.1.