US CIO defies the FBI, orders HTTPS for all government websites

Cory Doctorow 9:00 am Wed Jun 10, 2015

Tony Scott, CIO of the US government, has spit in the eye of assistant FBI director Michael Steinbach, who called on companies "to build technological solutions to prevent encryption above all else."

Scott has decreed that by the end of 2016, all US government sites will only be available through encrypted connections.

Federal websites that do not convert to HTTPS will not keep pace with privacy and security practices used by commercial organizations, and with current and upcoming Internet standards. This leaves Americans vulnerable to known threats, and may reduce their confidence in their government. Although some Federal websites currently use HTTPS, there has not been a consistent policy in this area. An HTTPS-only mandate will provide the public with a consistent, private browsing experience and position the Federal Government as a leader in Internet security.

US CIO Orders All .Gov Websites To Require Encrypted Connections, Amazon Enters The Secure Cert Space [Mike Masnick/Techdirt]

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