In today‘s digital world, security is more important than ever when it comes to internet communications and data transfer. When you visit a website or web application, you want to be sure your connection is private and your information is protected. That‘s where the differences between HTTP and HTTPS come into play.
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It‘s the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web that defines how messages are formatted and transmitted between web browsers and servers. HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It‘s an extension of HTTP that utilizes encryption to keep data secure as it travels across the internet.
At first glance, the difference between these two protocols may seem subtle. In fact, the only difference you‘ll notice as an end-user is the extra "S" in HTTPS and the padlock icon in your browser‘s address bar. But under the surface, there are some major distinctions that make HTTPS vastly more secure than HTTP.
In this article, we’ll explore what makes HTTPS more secure, the vulnerabilities of HTTP, and why every website should make the switch to HTTPS if they haven‘t already.
What Makes HTTPS More Secure Than HTTP?
HTTPS uses TLS/SSL encryption to protect data as it moves between your browser and the destination server. With HTTP, data is transmitted in plain text, leaving it vulnerable to interception and manipulation. The key security mechanisms that set HTTPS apart include:
Encryption
HTTPS websites use TLS (Transport Layer Security) or its predecessor SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to encrypt all communications between your browser and their server. This prevents potential bad actors from reading or modifying data during transit.
With HTTP, no encryption is used, so data is transmitted in plain text. This means anyone who intercepts web traffic can easily read or change the contents. On a public WiFi network, for example, other connected users could potentially see everything you‘re sending and receiving over HTTP.
But how exactly does HTTPS encryption work? TLS relies on asymmetric encryption, a public/private key system that ensures only the intended recipient can decrypt messages:
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The website has a private key only they control used to encrypt data.
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Your browser has the website‘s public key which can decrypt the data encrypted by their private key.
This creates secure one-way encryption. The website can encrypt data that only your browser can decrypt. When your browser needs to send sensitive data to the website, it encrypts the data using the website‘s public key, which only their private key can decrypt.
The encrypted data transmitted over TLS is known as the ciphertext. To decrypt it, your browser and the web server need to agree on a cipher suite, which is a set of algorithms that determines how the encryption/decryption process will work. During the initial TLS handshake, the browser and server negotiate the strongest cipher suite supported by both parties.
Public key encryption provides the foundation, but symmetric encryption does most of the heavy lifting for HTTPS performance. Symmetric algorithms use a shared secret key for both encryption and decryption. To set this up securely, the server generates a random symmetric session key and sends it to the browser encrypted with the public key. Once the secure session is established, all subsequent data exchanged uses the faster symmetric encryption.
Data Integrity
In addition to encrypting communications, TLS also verifies their integrity. Any changes made to encrypted HTTPS data during transit will invalidate the cipher text.
When a message arrives at its destination, the receiver can check that the contents match the original data. If anything was altered, the decryption will fail. HTTP has no means of guaranteeing message integrity.
TLS protects integrity using message authentication codes (MACs). When the sender encrypts a message, a MAC is generated based on the contents and secretly shared key. This MAC is appended to the cipher text and sent.
The receiving party independently calculates the MAC of the decrypted message using the same secret key. If the MACs match, the receiver can be sure the message hasn‘t been tampered with. If the MACs differ, the content has been altered.
Authentication
An HTTPS connection begins with a handshake process that authenticates the website domain. Web browsers validate the website‘s TLS certificate before establishing a secure session. This certificate verifies the site‘s identity and ensures you‘re connecting to the right server, not an impersonator.
A TLS certificate contains identifying information about the website like domain name, business name, location, and expiration date. But most importantly, it contains the site‘s public key used to set up the encrypted HTTPS connection.
The certificate is digitally signed and issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This verifies the public key really belongs to the entity owning that domain. Your browser has a pre-installed list of CA root certificates it trusts. As long as the website‘s certificate traces back to one of these known CAs, the site‘s identity is authenticated.
With HTTP, there is no authentication mechanism. You don‘t have a reliable way to know if the website you‘re communicating with is really who they claim to be. Any attacker can impersonate a website over standard HTTP with no validation.
Privacy
HTTPS encrypts the requests sent by your browser so your online activity stays private. An eavesdropper may be able to see that you‘ve visited example.com, but they won‘t see which individual pages you accessed on that domain.
With HTTP, all requests are visible, exposing your browsing history and behavior to anyone monitoring the connection. This information could potentially be sold to advertisers and data brokers.
According to a 2021 survey, 91% of consumers said they avoid brands that appear not to take data privacy seriously. The privacy protections of HTTPS help build user trust in websites.
Why is HTTP Considered Insecure?
Now that we‘ve covered the key security protections of HTTPS, let‘s look at some of the vulnerabilities created by using HTTP instead:
No Encryption
The lack of encryption leaves HTTP communications easily accessible to eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks. Usernames, passwords, credit card details, personal information – anything transmitted over HTTP can be read by anyone tapping into the connection.
A 2022 report found that 79% of all internet traffic is still unencrypted HTTP, leaving vast amounts of user data exposed.
Session Hijacking
Many websites use session cookies to identify users as they navigate from page to page. Without encryption, these cookies are vulnerable to interception and can be used to gain access to user accounts. HTTP session hijacking allows attackers to impersonate logged in users.
Research shows that over 45% of all cyberattacks involve compromising user session credentials in some way.
Website Spoofing
HTTP provides no way to authenticate websites and verify their identity. Attackers can exploit this by creating fake lookalike sites to phish user data. Spoofed websites using HTTP are indistinguishable from the real ones.
A staggering 113,000 phishing sites are created each month on average. Many leverage HTTP‘s lack of authentication and validation.
Manipulation of Data
Not only can malicious actors read HTTP traffic, but they can also modify or manipulate it before passing it on to the recipient. This could be used to inject malware, corrupt files, plant false information, and more.
U.S. businesses lose over $200 billion annually due to cybercrime damages and destruction of data. HTTP leaves data transfers exposed to tampering and sabotage.
Insecure Downloads
Files downloaded over HTTP could be intercepted and replaced with malware by an attacker. Using HTTPS prevents this by verifying the integrity of the downloaded file.
Over 200 million malware attacks targeted users in Q3 of 2022 alone, a 31% increase over 2021. HTTP downloads pose a major vector for malware distribution.
Browser Warnings
Modern web browsers display warnings when visiting sites using only HTTP, which hurts site credibility and user trust. Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge now label HTTP sites as "not secure" in the address bar.
An eye-tracking study found that 64% of users notice the "Not Secure" browser warnings on HTTP sites. These warnings negatively impact site perceptions.
Common HTTPS Vulnerabilities
While HTTPS is far more secure than HTTP, it‘s not bulletproof. Implemented improperly, HTTPS can still leave sites open to certain vulnerabilities:
Downgrade Attacks
Man-in-the-middle attackers can force browser sessions from HTTPS down to plain HTTP by exploiting vulnerabilities in how encryption is negotiated and established. This leaves traffic exposed.
SSL Stripping
By intercepting traffic and re-encrypting it, attackers can strip out SSL encryption and replace it with insecure HTTP communication instead.
Invalid Certificates
Websites with improperly issued or invalid TLS certificates used for HTTPS can enable impersonation and compromised encryption.
Weak Cipher Suites
Using older, weaker cipher suites and cryptographic algorithms also makes HTTPS connections vulnerable to crypto attacks.
Certificate Authority Breaches
If a trusted CA is compromised, threat actors can issue fake certificates impersonating other websites to intercept encrypted traffic.
Implementation Issues
HTTPS vulnerabilities like Heartbleed, FREAK, and Logjam have resulted from poor implementations of TLS and SSL protocols, not the protocols themselves.
Proper HTTPS configuration, up-to-date software, and robust certificate management are crucial to maximize security.
The Benefits of Switching to HTTPS
Given the vulnerabilities and risks, it‘s clear why every website should use HTTPS instead of standard HTTP. But switching to HTTPS isn‘t just about security – it offers other important benefits as well:
SEO Ranking Boost
Google and other search engines give a ranking boost to HTTPS websites due to their enhanced security and authenticity. Users perceive HTTPS sites as more credible, so the switch can improve click-through rates from search results.
According to Moz, HTTPS is one of only three confirmed Google search ranking factors. Sites switching to HTTPS see an average increase in traffic of 5-15%.
Compliance
Many industry compliance standards like PCI DSS explicitly require HTTPS. If you collect or process sensitive customer data, migrating to HTTPS may be mandatory, not optional.
95% of the Alexa Top 1 Million websites now use HTTPS, partly driven by compliance requirements in sectors like ecommerce and healthcare.
Future Proofing
The web is moving toward HTTPS by default. Major sites like Twitter and Wikipedia have already switched. Browser vendors are pushing for mandatory encryption, so websites will need to upgrade to HTTPS to remain compatible and avoid errors.
Chrome‘s HTTPS plan aims to change all HTTP site requests to HTTPS by 2023. The Internet Society predicts 99% of websites will adopt HTTPS within 5 years.
Performance
HTTPS provides a performance boost thanks to HTTP/2, a modern revision of HTTP that performs multiplexed transfer over a single TCP connection. The result is reduced latency without compromising security.
HTTP/2 reduces page load times by up to 50% compared to HTTP for modern web applications. And QUIC, the upcoming HTTP/3 standard, further boosts performance.
New Features
Certain web capabilities like accessing a device‘s geolocation require HTTPS. Support for new standards and APIs is increasingly dependent on encryption as browsers tighten restrictions for HTTP sites.
HTTPS unlocks capabilities like service workers, platform payments, push notifications, and powerful WebAssembly APIs otherwise blocked by browsers on HTTP sites.
User Trust
Positive trust indicators like the padlock icon and "Secure" wordmark in the browser address bar confirm your website is safe for users. This helps instill confidence in your brand and business.
88% of online shoppers report looking for the padlock icon before making purchases. HTTPS increases perceptions of professionalism and legitimacy.
Migrating Your Website to HTTPS
Switching an existing website from HTTP to HTTPS requires careful planning and execution. Here are the steps involved:
Obtain a Security Certificate
To enable HTTPS on your website, you‘ll need to purchase and install an SSL/TLS certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority like DigiCert or GlobalSign. This allows browsers to validate your site‘s identity and encrypt traffic.
You can purchase basic domain-validated certificates from CAs for around $50-100 per year. Extended Validation certificates with full organization validation cost $150-400 annually.
Install the Certificate
Once you have a certificate, you‘ll need to install it on your web server and configure encrypted bindings for the website. Your hosting provider can guide you through this process.
The certificate installation process will vary based on your server environment and hosting platform. The configuration changes needed typically take 1-2 hours.
Update Links & References
Any links and references to internal pages on your site will need to change from http:// to https://. Also update any references to external scripts and images.
Expect to spend at least 2-3 days updating links and references across your site‘s pages, posts, menus, themes, and plugins. Use search and replace to automate where possible.
Force Redirects
To ensure all traffic is redirected to HTTPS, implement 301 permanent redirects at the root .htaccess level of your site. This passes link equity to the secure URLs.
These redirects can be set up in under an hour. Redirecting http:// requests to https:// should happen immediately to avoid duplicate content issues.
Update Sitemaps
Generate new XML sitemaps referring to your HTTPS URLs only. Submit them to search engines through Google Search Console to be re-crawled.
You‘ll spend about half a day regenerating sitemaps and submitting them to Google and Bing for reindexing. Monitor crawl stats to see if errors occur.
Change External Links
Find any external sites linking to your HTTP URLs and request they switch those to HTTPS. This typically involves outreach to directories, partners, advertisers etc.
Expect this external link outreach process to take 1-2 weeks depending on how many sites link to you. Automation tools can help identify external HTTP links at scale.
Monitor Traffic & Debug
Use analytics tools to monitor HTTPS traffic levels and look for any errors caused by the switch. Debug and resolve any issues that arise.
Allocate 2-3 weeks after launch to closely watch site traffic and optimization metrics. Roll back or redirect any problem areas before a full commitment to HTTPS.
Set an HSTS Policy
Configure HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to instruct browsers to only interact with your site over HTTPS, preventing unsecured HTTP access.
HSTS settings can be activated through your .htaccess file or web server config. This further locks down the security of your HTTPS implementation.
The Future is HTTPS
Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS requires some upfront work, but it‘s a necessary evolution to keep pace with the changing web. The security and privacy benefits of encrypting website traffic are significant and worth the effort. As web infrastructure continues moving toward HTTPS as the new standard, sites still on HTTP will find themselves left behind.
Adopting HTTPS marks a commitment to your visitors to securing their data. But it also benefits your own business through increased user trust, compliance, performance, and improved search visibility. Ultimately, migrating to HTTPS is an investment in delivering the fast, secure, feature-rich experiences users have come to expect.
