What is the purpose of OCSP checks in SSL inspection?

The purpose of OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) checks in SSL inspection is to verify if a certificate is valid or has been revoked. This is crucial in maintaining the security of SSL communications. When a device performs SSL inspection, it decrypts the traffic to analyze it for threats, but it also needs to ensure that the certificates being used in those secure connections are still trustworthy.

OCSP provides a real-time method for checking the revocation status of digital certificates, which means that if a certificate has been revoked—perhaps due to a compromise or expiration—the OCSP check can flag that certificate. This allows organizations to take appropriate action to protect their networks and users from trusting a potentially malicious source.

The other choices do not accurately represent the primary function of OCSP in this context. Network protocols being secure, user identity authentication, and traffic pattern analysis are all important aspects of network security and management but are not directly related to the specific role of OCSP checks in SSL inspection.