Category Archives: Encryption

Google May Push Sites to Use Encryption

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A powerful voice at Google wants websites to be more secure.

In a move that experts say could make it harder to spy on Web users, Google is considering giving a boost in its search-engine results to websites that use encryption, the engineer in charge of fighting spam in search results hinted at a recent conference.

The executive, Matt Cutts, is well known in the search world as the liaison between Googles search team and website designers who track every tweak to its search algorithms.

Cutts also has spoken in private conversations of Googles interest in making the change, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person says Googles internal discussions about encryption are still at an early stage and any change wouldnt happen soon.

A Google spokesman said the company has nothing to announce at this time.

Encrypting data transmitted over the Internet adds a barrier between web users and anyone that wants to snoop on their Internet activities, or steal their information.

Google uses its search algorithm to encourage and discourage practices among web developers. Sites known to have malicious software are penalized in rankings as are those that load very slowly, for instance. In total, the company has over 200 signals that help it determine search rankings, most of which it doesnt discuss publicly.

If Google adds encryption to the list, it would give websites a big incentive to adopt it more widely.

This would be a wonderful thing, says Kevin Mahaffey, chief technology officer at mobile-security company Lookout. He says encryption assures that a users data cant be seen by others while moving across the Internet, that it cant be tampered with, and that it gets to the correct recipient.

Of course, that assumes that the encryption works. Internet users were jolted this week by disclosures that a popular encryption scheme, known as OpenSSL, contained a bug that could allow hackers to steal personal information.

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Google May Push Sites to Use Encryption

Google said to be eyeing a boost to encrypted sites in search results

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Websites that use encryption could be elevated in Google search results sometime in the future, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The algorithm change was hinted at by Matt Cutts, a top Google engineer, at the SMX West marketing conference last month the report said. Cutts is in charge of combating spam in search results and acts as the liaison between Googles search team and website designers who track changes made to Googles search algorithms.

Some early-stage internal discussions at Google have also taken place on incorporating encryption into Googles search algorithm rankings, the report said. The move would add a layer of security for Web users, while also giving companies an incentive to prioritize encrypting data.

We have nothing to announce at this time, a Google spokeswoman told the IDG News Service.

Googles algorithms incorporate a range of signals that determine search-result prominence. Placing encrypted sites higher in the mix would serve as a signal of its own on the importance of security, amid concerns over cyberattacks and government surveillance.

Google has used HTTPS encryption, which is designed to cloak traffic flowing between its data centers and users, for services such as Gmail and Search for some time now.

The elevated rankings could help drive more people to those sites and keep their data secure, if the encryption is effective. Flaws recently discovered in the OpenSSL protocol, a major encryption method across the Web, have shown that some established security safeguards are not rock solid.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service More by Zach Miners

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Google said to be eyeing a boost to encrypted sites in search results