What happens after the TLS handshake completes?

• A. Encryption begins
• B. Decryption begins
• C. Session termination
• D. Certificate discovery

Answer: (A)

After the TLS handshake completes, both sides have derived the symmetric session keys that will protect the connection. From this point on, all application data is transmitted using those keys in encrypted form, and incoming data is decrypted using the same keys on the other end. Decryption isn’t a separate new phase; it’s simply the counterpart action of the same keys being used to read data sent by the other side. The session isn’t terminated yet and the certificate was exchanged during the handshake, not after.