Web Browsers Are Changing, Are You Ready?
Website security protocols and standards have continuously evolved to improve security and privacy across the internet. However, until recently these standards were mostly backend focused with little impact on a website’s user experience.
Beginning in 2018, Google Chrome will begin to enforce the SSL encryption standard and will punish websites that do not maintain an active SSL certificate as early as October 2018. While Google Chrome will become the first to truly enforce the SSL protocol, many other web browsers will follow suit shortly after.
How will this impact my website?
Google Chrome will begin to flag non-HTTPS websites and actively alert your website’s users that website is Not Secure. While HTTPS may have a minor effect on your search rankings right now, it may have a large impact on how search engines rank your website in the future.
How much time do I have?
July 2018: All HTTP pages will subtly be marked as Not Secure.
October 2018: All HTTP pages will very publicly be marked as Not Secure.
2019 and Beyond: There is no set target date for this final stage, but Google intends to mark all HTTP pages as non-secure in the long term.
What’s SSL?
The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security protocol used to encrypt traffic while in transit between a web server and web browser. Generally, these are seen on websites used for online banking, payment processing, and where sensitive or protected data is transmitted online.
Next Steps
We would suggest having an SSL certificate active and implemented by the end of July 2018. Implementing an SSL certificate is now cheaper and easier than it’s ever been with services such as a Cloudflare which offers a shared SSL certificate along with other website protections for free.
As always the Davin Tech Group team is on standby to discuss and help your organization navigate these upcoming changes. Please don’t hesitate to reach out by email ([email protected]) or by phone (617-539-8265 x1)