STARTTLS
E6787
STARTTLS is a protocol command used to upgrade an existing unencrypted connection to a secure TLS-encrypted one, commonly in email and other text-based communication protocols.
All labels observed (6)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| STARTTLS canonical | 10 |
| LDAP over TLS | 1 |
| SMTP STARTTLS extension | 1 |
| SMTP over TLS | 1 |
| SMTP service extension keyword STARTTLS | 1 |
| STARTTLS extension for SMTP | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T63841 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: STARTTLS Context triple: [TLS, usedByProtocol, STARTTLS]
-
A.
TLS
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a cryptographic protocol that secures data transmitted over networks by providing encryption, authentication, and integrity between communicating applications.
-
B.
SSL 3.0
SSL 3.0 is an obsolete cryptographic protocol that once secured internet communications and served as the foundation for the early versions of TLS.
-
C.
SMTP
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a standard communication protocol used for sending and routing email messages across IP networks.
-
D.
RFC 5246
RFC 5246 is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard that specifies Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2, a widely used protocol for securing communications over computer networks.
-
E.
Telnet
Telnet is a network protocol and command-line tool that allows users to remotely access and manage devices over a text-based terminal connection.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: STARTTLS Target entity description: STARTTLS is a protocol command used to upgrade an existing unencrypted connection to a secure TLS-encrypted one, commonly in email and other text-based communication protocols.
-
A.
TLS
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a cryptographic protocol that secures data transmitted over networks by providing encryption, authentication, and integrity between communicating applications.
-
B.
SSL 3.0
SSL 3.0 is an obsolete cryptographic protocol that once secured internet communications and served as the foundation for the early versions of TLS.
-
C.
SMTP
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a standard communication protocol used for sending and routing email messages across IP networks.
-
D.
RFC 5246
RFC 5246 is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard that specifies Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2, a widely used protocol for securing communications over computer networks.
-
E.
Telnet
Telnet is a network protocol and command-line tool that allows users to remotely access and manage devices over a text-based terminal connection.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
email security mechanism
ⓘ
protocol command ⓘ |
| alternativeTo | using a separate port for implicit TLS ⓘ |
| category |
email security
ⓘ
transport layer security ⓘ |
| commandType | extension command ⓘ |
| definedFor | SMTP ⓘ |
| definedIn | RFC 3207 ⓘ |
| effect | switches communication from plaintext to encrypted within same TCP session ⓘ |
| enables |
confidentiality
ⓘ
integrity ⓘ opportunistic encryption ⓘ server authentication ⓘ |
| follows | initial plaintext protocol negotiation ⓘ |
| fullName | Start Transport Layer Security ⓘ |
| imapCommandKeyword | STARTTLS ⓘ |
| introducedInYear | 2002 ⓘ |
| layer | application layer ⓘ |
| operatesOn | existing plaintext connection ⓘ |
| pop3CommandKeyword | STLS ⓘ |
| precedes | TLS handshake ⓘ |
| purpose | upgrade an existing plaintext connection to a TLS-encrypted connection ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
SMTPS
ⓘ
implicit TLS ⓘ opportunistic TLS ⓘ |
| requires |
TLS handshake after command acceptance
ⓘ
support from both client and server ⓘ |
| securityProperty |
does not guarantee encryption if peers do not support TLS
ⓘ
vulnerable to downgrade attacks if not enforced ⓘ |
| smtpCommandKeyword | STARTTLS ⓘ |
| standardizedBy |
Internet Engineering Task Force
ⓘ
surface form:
IETF
|
| status | widely deployed in email infrastructure ⓘ |
| usedInProtocol |
ACAP
ⓘ
FTP ⓘ IMAP ⓘ IRC ⓘ LDAP ⓘ NNTP ⓘ POP3 ⓘ SMTP ⓘ XMPP ⓘ |
| usedOnPort |
110
ⓘ
143 ⓘ 25 ⓘ 5222 ⓘ 587 ⓘ |
| usesProtocol |
SSL
ⓘ
TLS ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: STARTTLS Description of subject: STARTTLS is a protocol command used to upgrade an existing unencrypted connection to a secure TLS-encrypted one, commonly in email and other text-based communication protocols.
Referenced by (15)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
X.509 certificate
this entity surface form:
LDAP over TLS
this entity surface form:
SMTP over TLS
subject surface form:
Thunderbird