Good news for security and encryption awareness. Google Chrome will start marking websites that don’t use the HTTPS protocol as “Not Secure”. Other browsers like Firefox or SnowHaze have introduced this during the past year to emphasize encryption for data transfer.
Websites using the insecure transmission protocol HTTP are or will be flagged with icons and message pointing at this lack of security.
Example of how SnowHaze flags insecure HTTP sites
This is great news for promoting encryption since there is now pressure from all side on website owners to use HTTPS. We are currently in a transition phase from rewarding encryption with a lock symbol, to punishing missing encryption. Websites flagged as having a lack of security will draw a bad image and urge owners to change their protocols. Google even wants to go a step further and not even show the lock for websites using HTTPS.
You might ask why is HTTPS not already dominating the internet if it is so great? Well, nobody knows. HTTPS was introduced 25 years ago in 1994, and it is in 2018 only that HTTPS sites outnumber HTTP. HTTPS used to be available only where sensitive information is shared. In more recent times websites started to use it for the entire content. Let’s hope these changes will soon lead to HTTPS being default.
As a user, you will now see a message on websites that transfer information insecurely. This will emphasize the risk of such websites and call for more attention on such sites. You still have to be very careful on HTTP sites and never enter any sensitive information like passwords or credit card details. These information could be stolen, which will give the attacker access to your personal account and banking details.
Here is an overview of the different symbolism regarding HTTPS in SnowHaze and Safari:
It is important to consider a secure VPN service on your device to ensure all the information that you sent while connected to the public WiFi network are secured. Encrypted data transfer is especially important when working with sensitive information such as personnal data or competitive company information. Remember, while the content accessed on a website is hidden for third parties when HTTPS is used, the metadata is still visible. For example, your ISP still sees the websites you visit, just not the content. You can hide the entire traffic by using a VPN. If you are using SnowHaze, you just need one tap to turn on the VPN to secure all your phone’s communication.
If you are a website owner, make sure you enabled HTTPS, otherwise check https://letsencrypt.org/getting-started/ to get started.
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