Encrypting SNI: Fixing One of the Core Internet Bugs
Sep 24, 2018Matthew Prince
Summary
This post introduces and announces the launch of Encrypted SNI (ESNI), a protocol designed to fix a core internet privacy bug where the Server Name Indication (SNI) extension, used to host multiple encrypted websites on a single IP, was itself unencrypted. This allowed ISPs and others to see which websites users visited, even over HTTPS. Cloudflare, in collaboration with industry partners, has implemented ESNI across its network and is working with browser vendors like Mozilla to integrate it, aiming to make the encrypted web more private and secure.
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