Nowadays, we spend more time online, risking our personal information and other vital data. This raises the need for a competent and reliable way to secure our internet connection to avoid potential cyber risks and security threats. This is where the Secure Lock Layer (SSL) protocol comes in handy. SSL stands out as one of the core internet security protocols that helps to encrypt data, thereby securing the internet connection.
Businesses cannot do much without implementing cybersecurity measures, considering the prevailing cyber threats. So, getting an SSL certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority cannot be sidelined. SSL provides the needed protection for all data exchanges between browsers and devices. Due to its effectiveness, SSL has become increasingly popular among businesses and individuals. This article explores essential SSL statistics to help you learn every crucial fact about SSL. Let’s dive in.
Key Statistics
General SSL Statistics
1. Up to 2,174,109 SSL certificates have been issued in early 2024 to a million websites.
The need to secure internet activities is growing with each passing year. As many as 2,174,109 SSL certificates were issued in early 2024. These certificates were for the best one million websites across the globe. Up to 34% of websites use the Secure Sockets Layer by default. Several others get SSL certified through certificate authorities such as DigiCert and Comodo.
2. Countries like the United States, Russia, and Germany make the list of top SSL default users.
SSL is a top-rated security protocol that many countries use to enhance their cybersecurity. Top sites in advanced nations, including the United States, Germany, Russia, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, use SSL by default. The United States ranks top regarding SSL usage, with 9,074,677 user sites. Germany comes second with 4,019,792, and the United Kingdom has 3 million. Conversely, Russia has just over 2 million SSL users, while Brazil has over 1 million SSL default users.
3. Cyber-attacks on companies rose in numbers to 270 in just 2021.
More companies in 2021 faced cyberattacks than the year before. The bar rose to 31% in every company during the time. This increased the number of affected companies from 206 to as many as 270. The attacks ranged from unlicensed access to data, applications, network devices, and services.
4. Up to 78% of IT experts were faced with the challenge of remote workers’ cybersecurity.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it massive cyberattacks on businesses. As high as 65% of all companies faced one form of internet attack or the other. The biggest concern for 78% of industry experts was shielding remote workers from the attack of ransomware.
Intriguing SSL Statistics
5. As many as 54% of companies’ IT employees have no idea how to manage encryption keys.
Most businesses have issues managing SSL certificates. Many IT experts have no idea where encryption keys are stored, and up to 54% are ignorant of storage and management.
6. The resultant effect of cybercrimes will likely increase by 15% at the close of 2025.
The cost-effectiveness of cybercrimes is on the rise. This will most likely reach $10.5 billion at the close of 2025. It simply means there will likely be a 15% increase at the end of the period. Companies must get digital certificates to help cut down cybercrime costs and heighten security.
7. Sectigo ranks as one of the best in issuing a certificate authority.
Sectigo has spread to more than 150 countries and has issued over 100 million digital certificates since its inception. It can be best described as a leader in issuing e-commerce SSL certificates. It is used by 9% of websites worldwide, including WordPress, Roblox, Samsung, eBay, and many other popular sites.
8. The global market for SSL certificates is growing at 12.3%.
The global CA market recorded a revenue as high as $127 million as of 2021. Its CAGR is growing at 12.3%, which will most likely reach $226 million by the close of 2026. This shows that more businesses use SSL certification.
9. Domain authentication makes up for 94.3% of all SSL certificates.
Up to 94.3% of all SSL certificates on the web are for domain authentication. Extended validation accounts for 0.1% of the entire market share. This is relatively lower than the organizational validation of 5.5%.
SSL Must-Know Facts in 2025
10. As high as 58% of all cyberattacks in the entertainment industry in 2020 were on denial of service.
Quite a good number of sectors faced various degrees of cyberattacks in 2020. The entertainment industry was one of the many in this regard. Up to 58% of all the attacks that occurred during the time were on denial of service. 92% of public administration firms were affected by cyberattacks in 2020. Many of these were caused by the loss of digital assets.
11. The global certificate market will most likely hit $282 million.
There is a firm conviction that the certificate global authority market will rise more than ever in the coming years. The market will likely increase to $282 million by the end of 2028. This means an annual growth of 11% from 2023 to the close of 2028. This growth is expected to occur due to the adoption of SSL certificates. More websites are taking on HTTP security for better website security. The demand for device certification is another factor that will cause this SSL certificate to increase.
12. About 21% of Alexa’s best 10,000 websites refuse to use SSL.
Up to 20,911 Alexia users have yet to transition to using SSL. These websites expose themselves to harm by transmitting data in text. They represent about 21% of the top 100,000 Alexia websites in the world.
13. Over 2 million SSL certificates were issued at the close of 2023.
SSL certificates rose by 40 million to 292,090,769 in the last quarter of 2023. The United States had 34,197,686 of the lot. Germany came in second place with just 13,940,701 SSL certificates that same year.
SSL Implementation Statistics
14. Up to 96% of browsing on Chrome is through HTTPS pages.
Google is fond of encrypting 96% of its traffic across all search engines. This gives users a more secure experience. Not much is there about internet security without Google’s input. It has risen to become the preferred search engine for the majority of internet users. The standard of web security has increased through HTTPS encryption and ranking sites based on security. Users can rest assured of getting secure, encrypted connections while browsing search results on Google. These efforts have indeed helped in generating a better internet ecosystem.
15. The top 6 rated certificate authorities issue up to 90% of the SSL certificates.
Encrypt is the first of the six major certificate authorities, with a 39.2% market share. IdenTrust is second, with 28.9%, and Globalsign comes third, with an 11.1% share.
16. Online encryption was done by 56% of companies in 2020.
Protection of online communication is fast becoming a norm across the world. Internet encryption was carried out by 56% of firms at the close of 2020.
17. 82.9% of sites got a fully functional SSL certificate in 2023.
SSL certificates are becoming more popular among websites across the world. As high as 82.9% of sites in 2023 got an SSL certificate. This was an increase of 18.5% from what it had in 2018.
18. 35.6% of websites face security Issues.
Mounting issues continue to plague sites worldwide. In February 2024, as many as 150,000 well-known websites faced security issues. These sites represented 35.9% of 134,595 sites in a survey carried out by SSL Pulse. Up to 48,330 sites in that survey did not follow SSL best practices. Some of the issues came from weak encryption codes and partial certificate chains.
Cybersecurity and SSL Relations
19. More than 90% of Phishing websites make use of HTTPS.
HTTPS is fast becoming the norm for a whole lot of companies across the world. More than 90% of Phishing websites in 2023 used HTTPS. This is in a bid to appear legitimate to more clients. The increase in usage resulted from the ease of accessing unpaid SSL certificates.
20. HTTP websites attacked by harmful content rose by 167% in 2018 to the close of 2019.
There was a high rate of attacks on HTTP-enabled websites throughout 2018 and 2019. This malicious content rose by 167% more than the previous year. It remained unnoticed, as the green censor padlock gave some sense of security. Users soon found this to be false security.
21. As high as 60.1% of malware attacks went viral through encrypted SSL traffic.
Most often, encrypted SSL traffic is the source of Malware attacks, which are difficult to detect. The resultant effect is more successful malware attacks. In the first quarter of 2022, security experts detected up to 60.1% of malware, a decrease from the second-quarter high of 91% in 2022.
22. Up to 90% of businesses in 2019 were facing Phishing attacks.
The rate of phishing attacks is on the rise, with 90% of companies under attack since 2019. Among the lot were 88% of PEAR phishing attacks. Voice phishing accounted for 83% of the total, and social media accounted for 86%. Other degrees of attacks were 84% text phishing and harmful USB, with 81%.
Conclusion
A lot happens on the internet, and the high occurrence of cyber-attacks results in significant business losses. Companies have no other option but to step up their game in terms of cybersecurity, and many of them use SSL.
Countries like the United States and Japan use SSL by default. Sectigo holds a significant market share in SSL certificates and issues many daily. Given its rising popularity, SSL will likely remain a crucial cybersecurity measure for many. These SSL statistics above underscore the importance of cybersecurity in today’s digitally connected world.
FAQs
Secure Sockets Layer is an updated technology that encrypts connections between sites and browsers. It ensures that cyber attackers do not hijack users’ or site’s information.
Many SSL certificates do not require a payment option. These free options also provide discounts and renewals. The best option is to choose a plan that fits your site’s needs. An SSL certificate costs an average of about $60 annually, but it could cost as much as $1,000 annually.
The Extended Domain and organization-validated SSL certificates are the best for grasp. Each one is on the same encryption level; the only difference is obtaining the certificate.
Up to 82.9% of sites worldwide in 2023 got an SSL certificate.
SSL is the surest means of safeguarding your web connection. It provides the highest online security to its users. Big sites like Google encourage users to stay safe with an HTTPS protocol.
