IF YOUR BROWSER DOES NOT HAVE TLS 1.2 OR HIGHER ENABLED AFTER WE DISABLE TLS 1.0 AND 1.1, THEN YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS FCC’S WEBSITE AFTER DECEMBER 6, 2017.
AS A USER OF THE FCC’S PUBLIC WEBSITE, WE WANT TO INFORM YOU OF A CHANGE REGARDING SUPPORTED ENCRYPTION PROTOCOLS. STARTING DECEMBER 6, 2017, FCC WILL BEGIN DISABLING THE TLS 1.0 AND 1.1 ENCRYPTION PROTOCOL. THIS ACTION WILL PREVENT TLS 1.0 AND 1.1 FROM BEING USED TO ACCESS THE FCC WEBSITE.
Why is this happening?
Sensitive data—from credit card numbers to patient health information to social networking details—need protection when transmitted across an insecure network, so administrators employ protocols that reduce the risk of that data being intercepted and used maliciously. TLS, a standard specified by the Internet Engineering Task Force, defines the method by which client and server computers establish a secure connection with one another to protect data that is passed back and forth. TLS is used by a wide variety of everyday applications, including email, secure web browsing, instant messaging and voice-over-IP (VOIP). The Internet Engineering Task Force found vulnerabilities in TLS 1.0 and 1.1, two widely used protocols, and updated it to TLS 1.2 to resolve many of these security issues. In order to mitigate these vulnerabilities and conform to our own recommendations, FCC will disable the use of TLS 1.0 and 1.1 for connections to our public website.
What action do I need to take?
If you want to continue to access the FCC website, you need to ensure your browser(s) have TLS 1.2 enabled. If your browser or integration does not have TLS 1.2 or higher enabled after we make this change, then you will NOT be able to access our website.
You can see if your browser supports TLS 1.2 at this site:
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html
View this page to Enable TLS 1.2 on Various browsers
https://knowledge.geotrust.com/support/knowledge-base/index?page=conten…