It’s Time to Encrypt Your Site

When it comes to the data of you and your constituents, privacy is of the utmost importance.  When it comes to the expectations of people visiting a website, it’s the same.  When it comes to Google, the expectation is still there, and it carries with it the weight of your search traffic.

Google has recently laid out plans to visibly flag any site that doesn’t have HTTPS encryption with a ‘Not secure’ note in the address bar beginning July 2018.  Below you can see an example from Google of how the same site might look after the change is made.

In the Government space, organizations have been slower to adapt to what is quickly becoming a standard, and will likely become much more of one after Google introduces these changes.  As of now, govtech.com reports that 29 states don’t have an HTTPS front page, and that six of the top 10 most populous cities don’t have one either.

While most governments are encrypting pages that are actually asking users for information there is still plenty of damage that can be done just from the front page.  This includes spreading misinformation, offensive material, or redirecting users to another site altogether.

Many governments, especially when facing budget issues, haven’t moved toward this type of encryption simply because it isn’t required.  If there isn’t a mandate to do this, it has slipped in terms of prioritization.  It seems though, that Google will be the one implementing the directive to get this done.  After all, there’s something unsettling about going to the website of a government that represents you and having the first thing you see be the words “Not secure.”  One way or another, this will result in a meaningful change in site encryption standards.

Privacy is paramount when dealing with individuals’ data which is why Extract offers solutions to redact documents, even if they’re unstructured, to keep confidential data safe.  Reach out to us today for help with your privacy and redaction needs or to see a demo of our software.