Dive Brief:
- On Tuesday, Google released a transparency report, adding a new section that tracks how many Google requests use HTTPS encryption.
- The company's figures show the the gradual adoption of SSL, which runs HTTPS, over the past two years.
- Google said it is working to reach 100% encryption across all its products and services. Right now, more than 75% of requests to its servers use encrypted connections.
Dive Insight:
HTTPS allows an Internet users’ browser or app to securely connect with a website. Privacy groups have pushed for wider adoption of HTTPS for years, but the process can be challenging for complex services like Google's. The secure web connections enabled by HTTPS can foil attempts to intercept information and help ensure the integrity of information sent and received between parties, according to Google.
"Our aim with this project is to hold ourselves accountable and encourage others to encrypt so we can make the web even safer for everyone," Google said in a blog post.
A recent survey from Statista found that about 33% of all global internet traffic from January to September 2015 used the HTTPS protocol.
Businesses and government agencies are increasingly shifting to HTTPS because it verifies the identity of a website or web service for a connecting client and encrypts almost all information sent between a website or service and the user. In January, popular content management system Drupal announced it would move to HTTPS and Amazon announced it would offer free SSL/TLS certificates for Amazon Web Services resources.
