As hundreds of thousands of government workers go without paychecks, another potential crisis looms as President Trump’s partial government shutdown continues.
Dozens of government websites have seen their security certificates expire since the government shuttered on December 21, with no one at work to renew them, Netcraft reports.
Netcraft estimates that over 80 government websites, including the Department of Justice, the U.S. Court of Appeals and NASA, have been impacted by the shutdown.
The security certificates, known as TLS certificates, operate as a part of Information Technology infrastructure by sending encrypted data between a website and a browser. The certificate protects information and prevents hackers from reading or otherwise gathering information shared between a device and a website, including personal data such as addresses or bank account numbers.
The problem with the certificates means that some government websites are inaccessible, thanks to HTTP Strict Transport Security procedures (HSTS). Websites using HSTS which have expired security certificates cannot be accessed at all, while other websites without HSTS can be accessed by using HTTP in the web…
