University of Twente Student Theses
The energy consumption and carbon footprint of HTTPS
Posthuma, M. (2025) The energy consumption and carbon footprint of HTTPS.
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| Abstract: | The shift from HTTP to HTTPS as the de facto web protocol reflects a prioritization of privacy and security among society. It seems that the afore- mentioned standards are of such great importance that any extra costs are justified. However, while privacy is indubitably vital, it is essential to inves- tigate its potential environmental trade-offs. The computational processes required for HTTPS, such as encryption and certificate management, may contribute to the carbon emissions of the rapidly growing digital economy. This study aims to propose a simple framework to measure the carbon foot- print induced by HTTPS in web applications, focusing on the difference between HTTP and HTTPS in terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions. Measuring the total board power of both server and client allows for an estimation of energy consumption and carbon footprint of web traffic using the HTTP and HTTPS protocols. The results are relevant in the field of cybersecurity and sustainable web development, providing valuable insights into the added computational overhead of TLS (on top of HTTP) and its consequences in terms of additional carbon output. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | EEMCS: Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science |
| Subject: | 43 environmental science, 54 computer science |
| Programme: | Computer Science BSc (56964) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/105098 |
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