What To Do
Website owners should update to Always-On Encryption via HTTPS. This consists of obtaining a security certificate for the website, and configuring the website to use HTTPS, instead of HTTP, at all times.
Website owners should also remove or relocate any web elements stored at an HTTP domain and store the elements instead at an HTTPS domain, or convert those HTTP domains to HTTPS.
The Google Chrome version 82 update due to be released in April 2020 begins a series of six Chrome updates that ultimately will block insecure page elements from otherwise secure webpages.
All Essent cloud offerings — including EssentOne, Compass, SiteBuilder, and OrderTrax — support the changes coming in Chrome 82-86 and are expected to continue to function as intended.
Essent customers who have not migrated their websites to Always-On Encryption via Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) are once again urged to do so. Contact Essent Support for details about migrating to HTTPS.
Furthermore, website owners should remove or relocate any web elements stored at an HTTP domain and store the elements instead at an HTTPS domain, or convert those HTTP domains to HTTPS.
What’s Changing
The upcoming Chrome updates, known as an update for mixed content downloads, extend HTTPS requirements from the page level to the page element level.
For example, if an HTTPS web page contains a photo or video that resides at an old HTTP domain, then Google Chrome, as of Chrome 86, will block the photo or video.
Mixed content refers to the mix of secure and insecure protocols. In other words, HTTPS pages will have non HTTPS elements blocked.
Roadmap
It's part of a larger plan to eventually eliminate all insecure downloads, according to Google:
"Chrome intends to eventually remove support for all insecure downloads as they present a threat to the privacy and security of users. Developers are encouraged to move entirely to HTTPS to avoid future changes.”
Google is starting with warnings about insecure elements and then ramping up to outright blocking in a roadmap that looks like this:
Chrome 86 is estimated to be released in October 2020.