Wikipedia is roughly analogous to a university library and notice that Wikipedia connects with https by default now. Why should we care that our connection to W

Wikipedia is roughly analogous to a university library and notice that Wikipedia connects with https by default now. Why should we care that our connection to Wikipedia is encrypted (assuming we’re not going to log in)? Because encryption protects our privacy when browsing the encyclopedia. In a physical library your privacy is protected by logistics: if someone wants to spy on what you’re reading they need to actually travel to the library or otherwise set up some kind of physical surveillance there. Unencrypted communications over the internet do not present any logistical challenge whatsoever for would-be snoops. All unencrypted traffic can be scooped up and catalogued automatically to build a detailed dossier on all users. This sort of dragnet surveillance was never feasible at physical libraries.