14 DAY TRIAL // The Wikimedia Foundation is making a push to protect its users from being snooped on by sneaky government agencies. Wikipedia and all Wikimedia-related websites will soon be switching to HTTPS and HSTS.
The move was announced in a blog post on the Foundation's website and comes to prevent cases where hackers or governments would end up collecting information on its users and how they're utilizing the site.
Wikipedia especially can provide behavioral patterns about its visitors, offering real insights into someone's personality and tendencies based on the wiki pages they like to read.
"Without encryption, governments can more easily surveil sensitive information, creating a chilling effect, and deterring participation, or in extreme cases they can isolate or discipline citizens," said the official announcement.
HTTPS would allow users to establish an encrypted connection between their computers and the Wikimedia servers, that's much harder to break by ISPs, hackers, or government agencies than regular traffic.
Wikimedia has been working on HTTPS implementation for years
Technically, HTTPS was already being used on Wikipedia since 2013 for all logged-in users, but this marks the official point from where all site connections will be encrypted.
Along with HTTPS, the company will also be deploying HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security), a protocol to protect HTTPS from being broken.
This move was in the works at Wikimedia since 2011, when engineers started testing out various HTTPS configurations, trying to find the best solution so the sites would work properly across the globe, regardless of their technical or network infrastructures.
The entire process was delayed due to the wide variety of devices and methods users employ in accessing the site, but now the tech team feels strong enough about their decision to start rolling HTTPS out in the upcoming days.