Google released its encryption methods as a new metric in its transparency reports, specifically on the use of HTTPS encryption on requests forwarded to its servers, detailed in a Fast Company report. In the annual bulletin, Google disclosed that 77 percent of its sites now encrypt information. Google parses down the HTTPS encryption by its separate services and reveals that 100% of data is sent by HTTPS for Gmail,83% of data is sent via HTTPS for maps, 77 percent of data is sent via HTTPS for ads, 60 percent of data is sent via HTTPS for Google News, and 58 percent of data is sent via HTTPS for Google Finance.
A Google blog post said, “We’re making positive strides, but we still have a ways to go.” According to the dispatch, Google is ahead of other well-known sites on the web. Additionally, the HTTPS report also takes into consideration the 100 non-Google sites on the Internet, which accounts for 25 percent of comprehensive traffic, and shows that most of them aren’t utilizing HTTPS, although major sites such as Facebook and Amazon are.
But Google explains that the most disconcerting problems in complete secure encrypted browsing reside in older consumer smartphones. “Some older devices cannot support modern encryption, standards, or protocols,” Google notes. “The vast majority of unencrypted end user traffic originating from a set of surveyed Google services comes from mobile devices. Unfortunately, these devices may no longer be updated and may never support encryption.”
Google will continually be updated the HTTPS transparency reports on a weekly timetable to expand its HTTPS traffic. Google notes, “Implementing encryption is not easy work. But, as more people spend more of their time on the web, it’s an increasingly essential element of online security. We hope this report will provide a snapshot of our own encryption efforts and will encourage everyone to make HTTPS the default on the web, even faster.”