Urban vs. rural divide in HTTPS implementation for hospital websites in Illinois

Abstract

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) communications protocol is used to secure traffic between a web browser and server. This technology can significantly reduce the risk of interception and manipulation of web information for nefarious purposes such as identity theft. Deployment of HTTPS has reached about 50% of all webs sites. Little is known about HTTPS implantation for hospital websites. To investigate the prevalence of HTTPS implementation, we analyzed the websites of the 210 public hospitals in the state of Illinois, USA. HTTPS was implemented to industry standards for 54% of all hospital websites in Illinois. Geographical analysis showed an urban vs. rural digital divide with 60% of urban hospitals and 40% of rural hospitals implementing HTTPS.