Beginning Tuesday, the Washington Post will begin encrypting parts of its website to protect users’ viewing habits from both governmental and non-governmental intruderss. WaPo will roll out the new encryption gradually, first using it on its home page, national security page and tech blog, and will apply the protocol to the rest of its pages in the coming months.

The change involves layering an encryption protocol called TLS or SSL on top of the standard HTTP, creating the recognizable HTTPS prefix. This HTTPS, along with a lock icon will appear in users’ Web address bar once the encryption goes into effect.

Many businesses, social media sites and even the U.S. federal government have begun instituting this protocol, but it has been slow to catch on in the media world.

Some worry that though this type of encryption will stop cyber attacks in the short run, it may result in more devastating attacks in the future. On sites with HTTPS encryption, hackers need to acquire keys/certificates to access data. However, if they do obtain these keys, and it’s inevitable that some will, they will be coming over encrypted traffic, meaning they’ll have enhanced access to the site’s data and an easier time hiding from cybersecurity detection.

All in all, the trend towards HTTPS is probably a good thing, but it’s certainly not a panacea for the world’s cybersecurity woes. As companies institute this encryption protocol, they’ll also need to tighten their grasp on certificates to make it more difficult for hackers to get in and wreak havoc.