An SSL error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made

Question

As title says. I have tried using both NSURLSession and Alamofire.

Both are giving me the same errors. I am using the simulator and don't have access to a device. I have limitations and need it to work on the simulator.

I am trying to retrieve userlogin details from the server (again the server i don't have access to as another team is responsible.

let headers = [
    "content-type": "application/json",
    "accept": "application/json",
    "appid": "test",
    "cache-control": "no-cache",
    "postman-token": "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx"
]
let parameters = ["attributes": [
    "password": "test",
    "devicename": "My smartphone",
    "deviceid": "ABC99999999",
    "email": "xxxx@xxxx.co.uk"
    ]]


do {

    let postData = try NSJSONSerialization.dataWithJSONObject(parameters, options: .PrettyPrinted)

    let request = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: NSURL(string: "https://a-eco-oid-web-ppf-slo-vs-d.stbc2.jstest2.net:443/Identity/rest/appl/test/wflow/auth")!,
                                      cachePolicy: .UseProtocolCachePolicy,
                                      timeoutInterval: 10.0)
    request.HTTPMethod = "POST"
    request.allHTTPHeaderFields = headers
    request.HTTPBody = postData

    let session = NSURLSession.sharedSession()
    let dataTask = session.dataTaskWithRequest(request, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
        if (error != nil) {
            print(error?.localizedDescription)
        } else {
            let httpResponse = response as? NSHTTPURLResponse
            print(httpResponse)
        }
    })

    dataTask.resume()

} catch {

    print(error)
}

The Url is only for internal use so will not work outside our network.

These are the errors that i am getting constantly.

"An SSL error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made."

"The certificate for this server is invalid. You might be connecting to a server that is pretending to be “a-eco-oid-web-ppf-slo-vs-d.stbc2.jstest2.net” which could put your confidential information at risk."

I have searched and searched online but can not find any solution.

This is what my info.plist looks like:

<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key>
    <true/>
    <key>NSExceptionDomains</key>
    <dict>
        <key>a-eco-oid-web-ppf-slo-vs-d.stbc2.jstest2.net</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSRequiresCertificateTransparency</key>
            <string>NO</string>
            <key>NSThirdPartyExceptionMinimumTLSVersion</key>
            <string>TLSv1.2</string>
            <key>NSThirdPartyExceptionRequiresForwardSecrecy</key>
            <string>YES</string>
            <key>NSThirdPartyExceptionAllowInsecureHTTPSLoads</key>
            <false/>
            <key>NSExceptionMinimumTLSVersion</key>
            <string>TLSv1.2</string>
            <key>NSExceptionRequiresForwardSecrecy</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSIncludeSubdomains</key>
            <true/>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

I have looked at the following posts and applied them already without any success:

How to connect to self signed servers using Alamofire 1.3

iOS 9.3 : An SSL error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made

iOS9 getting error “an ssl error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made”

UPDATE 1: I forgot to add that when i used Alamofire, i also tried to ignore the server policies or bypass them via the methods below, again none of them worked :(

let manager : Alamofire.Manager = {
    // Create the server trust policies
    let serverTrustPolicies: [String: ServerTrustPolicy] = [
        "a-eco-oid-web-ppf-slo-vs-d.stbc2.jstest2.net": .DisableEvaluation
    ]
    // Create custom manager
    let configuration = NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration()
    configuration.HTTPAdditionalHeaders = Alamofire.Manager.defaultHTTPHeaders
    let man = Alamofire.Manager(
        configuration: NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration(),
        serverTrustPolicyManager: ServerTrustPolicyManager(policies: serverTrustPolicies)
    )
    return man
}()

let manager = Alamofire.Manager.sharedInstance
manager.delegate.sessionDidReceiveChallenge = { session, challenge in
    var disposition: NSURLSessionAuthChallengeDisposition = .PerformDefaultHandling
    var credential: NSURLCredential?
    if challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust {
        disposition = NSURLSessionAuthChallengeDisposition.UseCredential
        credential = NSURLCredential(forTrust: challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust!)
    } else {
        if challenge.previousFailureCount > 0 {
            disposition = .CancelAuthenticationChallenge
        } else {
            credential = manager.session.configuration.URLCredentialStorage?.defaultCredentialForProtectionSpace(challenge.protectionSpace)
            if credential != nil {
                disposition = .UseCredential
            }
        }
    }
    return (disposition, credential)
}