All new executive branch .gov domains will ditch HTTP, enforce HTTPS

Government websites just took a serious step toward robust security. Today, the Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council announced that all new executive branch domains moving forward will use HTTPS, the secure, encrypted alternative to HTTP. The change is expected to go into effect in spring of this year.

Since 2015, the government has been working to migrate all of its sites and services to HTTPS, a browser protocol widely considered to be one of the central pillars of online security. Notably, the new .gov initiative will mark the first time a top-level domain (TLD) has enforced HTTPS across subdomains.