Yahoo has confirmed that they have implemented the steps which ensure that all traffic to its data centres will be in an encrypted state.

Yahoo has also confirmed that they are planning on increasing the security of other services, with Yahoo Messenger being included.

Yahoo stated that all information that is transmitted between its data centres is now encrypted and therefore making it much harder for outsiders to access and read data. Yahoo has also stated that search requests made on their homepage are also encrypted.

Yahoo has undertaken these unprecedented steps after whistle-blower Edward Snowden leaked documents regarding the National Security Agency (NSA) methods to gather data on US citizens. Such methods included the NSA regularly asking firms such as Yahoo for user information and tap fibre-optic cables that carry global information networks.

Alex Stamos who is the chief security information officer at Yahoo stated that their goal is to ensure that their entire platform is encrypted and that they’ll continue to do their best to ensure user data remains protected.

Stamos Stated, “The goal is all traffic to and from Yahoo users is going to be encrypted all the time by default, and invisibly. This is not going to be something you have to think about all the time. Preventing surveillance of millions of people at a time is totally within our abilities.

Stamos added, “What we are hoping to do by this is to get a big chunk of the internet and advertising infrastructure gets separated and then it gets easier for people to fall behind and follow. Anything we can do to protect users against widespread, no-targeted surveillance is our duty.”

Yahoo are one of the companies who was involved in the setting up of the alliance called Reform Government Surveillance group in December 2013 and are campaigning to have the permission to publish details of data requests made by the NSA.