Initially created for IT professionals, SSL certificates have now become indispensable in the digital world, particularly for the legal professions, who host sensitive data on their websites.
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If the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably seen it many times before: the SSL certificate can be recognized by the “https” protocol and the little padlock in the browser’s address bar.
How does it work?
SSL certificates are used to secure any form of online communication or information exchange, thanks to data encryption. Data transmitted to a site by an Internet user cannot be seen, and the website owner cannot modify or delete it, thus protecting your site from cybercriminal attack.
For whom? In particular, law firms…
SSL certificates are found on sites with sensitive data or transactions, such as e-commerce sites, banks, web messaging services and social networks.
Law firm websites, rich in sensitive data, are obviously in the front line. As guarantors of the confidentiality of their clients’ data, lawyers must ensure that it is processed and stored securely, to protect it against any hacking of computer systems, websites or e-mail systems.
SSL certificate = security = trust
A site without an SSL certificate does not inspire confidence. Users are informed of this by the absence of a padlock in the address bar, and can therefore choose not to visit the site. 82% of Internet users never click on an unsecured site (Acronet). A guarantee of transparency and professionalism, the SSL certificate testifies to the security of your platform and shows your customers and prospects that they can browse and enter information in complete safety.
How to obtain an SSL certificate for your website?
SSL certificates must be requested from Certification Authorities (CAs), the trusted entities that issue, sign and store digital certificates. These include Let’s Encrypt, a free certification authority founded by the Internet Security Research Group, which brings together major web players such as Google, Facebook and Mozilla.
The importance of SSL certificates for SEO
As mentioned above, the presence of an SSL certificate is a guarantee of security. As a website owner, you know that visitors prefer to feel secure, especially if the site has an Extranet-type identification module.
Visually, a website secured by an SSL certificate is instantly recognizable. Firstly, the presence of a small green padlock in front of the URL, in the address bar. Then, instead of seeing “http”, it will display “https”, which tells the browser that the connection with the server must be secure. It goes without saying that a secure site will attract more visitors than a suspect one.
In addition, since 2014, Google has announced that websites using “https” are preferred and will appear higher in its rankings.
Google seems to make a particular point of securing information circulating on the Internet. Since 2017, not only do sites using an SSL certificate rank higher, but Google also displays a warning with the words “not secure” on sites running on “http” that nevertheless ask for personal identification information. Increasingly, search engines, and Google in particular, are pushing website owners to adopt SSL certificate security. By ignoring this measure, your website risks dropping in the search results rankings, and worse still, being seen as a dangerous, malicious site that would scare off Internet users.
Sources :
– What is an SSL certificate and why use it for your website?
– What is an SSL certificate? Definition and explanation
– What is a free SSL certificate and how do I get one?
– Cybersecurity for law firms: it’s urgent and fairly straightforward.
– How does SSL work?
– HTTPS encryption on the Web
