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TECHNOLOGY A23
Thursday 17 March 2016
Google reveals 77 percent of its online traffic is encrypted
MICHAEL LIEDTKE its search order to boost In this March 23, 2010, file photo, the Google logo is seen at the Google headquarters in
AP Technology Writer those that automatically Brussels. Google is disclosing how much of the traffic to its search engine and other services is
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — encrypted their services. being protected from hackers as part of its push to encrypt all online activity. Encryption shields
Google is disclosing how The change meant web- 77 percent of the requests sent from around the world to Google’s data centers, up from 52
much of the traffic to its sites risked being demoted percent at the end of 2013, according to company statistics released Tuesday, March 15, 2016.
search engine and other in Google’s search results Associated Press
services is being protected and losing visitors if they
from hackers as part of its didn’t embrace encryp- Google’s next most fre- news service (60 percent) services. Some older de-
push to encrypt all online tion. Google is highlighting quently encrypted servic- and finance (58 percent). vices are also unable to
activity. its own progress on digital es are maps (83 percent Google, owned by Alpha- handle modern encryption
Encryption shields 77 per- security while the FBI and of traffic) and advertising bet Inc., says it’s still trying standards, according to
cent of the requests sent Apple Inc. are locked in a (77 percent, up from just to overcome some of the Google.Nearly 96 percent
from around the world to court battle over access to 9 percent at the end of technical problems that of Google’s unencrypted
Google’s data centers, an encrypted iPhone used 2013). Encryption frequen- have made it more diffi- traffic comes from mobile
up from 52 percent at the by one of the two extrem- cy falls off for Google’s cult to encrypt some of its devices.
end of 2013, according ist killers behind the mass
to company statistics re- shootings in San Bernardi-
leased Tuesday. no, California, in Decem-
The numbers cover all ber.
Google services expect its Google joined several oth-
YouTube video site, which er major technology com-
has more than 1 billion us- panies to back Apple in
ers. Google plans to add its refusal to honor a court
YouTube to its encryption order to unlock the iPhone,
breakdown by the end of arguing that it would re-
this year.Encryption is a se- quire special software that
curity measure that scram- could be exploited by
bles transmitted informa- hackers and governments
tion so it’s unintelligible if to pry their way into other
it’s intercepted by a third encrypted devices.
party. In its encryption crusade,
Google began emphasiz- Google’s is trying to make
ing the need to encrypt it nearly impossible for gov-
people’s online activities ernment spies and other
after confidential docu- snoops from decipher-
ments leaked in 2013 by ing personal information
former National Security seized while in transit over
Agency contractor Ed- the Internet.“Our aim with
ward Snowden revealed this project is to hold our-
that the U.S. government selves accountable and
had been vacuuming up encourage others to en-
personal data transferred crypt so we can make the
over the Internet. The sur- web even safer for every-
veillance programs ex- one,” Google encryption
ploited gaping holes in un- “evangelists” Rutledge
encrypted websites. Chin Feman and Tim Willis
While rolling out more en- wrote in a blog post .
cryption on its services, The statistics show that
Google has been trying to Google’s Gmail service
use the clout of its influen- is completely encrypted
tial search engine to prod as long as the correspon-
other websites to strength- dence remains confined
en their security. to Gmail. Mail exchanges
In August 2014, Google between Gmail and other
revised its secret formula email services aren’t nec-
for ranking websites in essarily encrypted.
