Linux Foundation Announces Let’s Encrypt Project
The Linux Foundation and the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) have announced a new project aimed at promoting encryption on the Internet. The new service, known as “Let’s Encrypt,” is described as “… a free, automated and open security certificate authority for the public’s benefit. Let’s Encrypt allows website owners to obtain security certificates within minutes, enabling a safer web experience for all.”
Despite advances in encryption and intrusion prevention, security problems continue to plague the Internet. Experts have long advocated universal encryption as a best-practice technique for minimizing attacks. The Let’s Encrypt project is intended to make it easier for webmasters to install and maintain encryption. According to ISRG executive director Josh Aas, “Encryption should be the default for the web. The web is a complicated place these days; it is difficult for consumers to be in control of their data. The only reliable strategy for making sure that everyone’s private data and information is protected while in transit over the web is to encrypt everything. Let’s Encrypt simplifies this.”
The founders of the Let’s Encrypt project believe one reason website encryption is not universal is that conventional certificate authority services are too complicated, and often too expensive, to be an option for smaller websites. Let’s Encrypt will provide certificates for free, and it will simplify the configuration at the web server so that a couple easy commands are all that is necessary to implement encryption.
According to the project website, Let’s Encrypt will be available to the public in mid-2015.
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