Given that the Jargon File / Hacker’s Dictionary predates https by at least 20 years and is not remotely sensitive information, I don’t think it’s a problem.
It does create a MITM vulnerability, the question is just whether it matters or not. With HTTPS a third party will only know which url you’re accessing. With HTTP they can see exactly what data is transferred and can modify that data at will.
So adding HTTPS here accomplishes:
hiding which exact page of the hacker’s dictionary you’re accessing
hiding the exact contents of the page
ensuring that this page doesn’t get modified in transit
None of these are really an issue, so using http in this situation is fine. In general though, I’d consider not having HTTPS as a bug for most sites, unless you’re extremely resource constrained on either side of the connection and you think carefully about the security and privacy implications
Given that the Jargon File / Hacker’s Dictionary predates https by at least 20 years and is not remotely sensitive information, I don’t think it’s a problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jargon_file
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/
P.S. This entry in particular might be informative:
http://www.hackersdictionary.com/html/entry/hacker.html
Maybe I’m wrong, but using http could create a MITM vulnerability.
And for me this issue is my browser is setup to block http URLs. It’s just not a good look.
You are. The only way it “creates a MITM vuln” is if you’re entering sensitive information into the site, which you’re not.
It does create a MITM vulnerability, the question is just whether it matters or not. With HTTPS a third party will only know which url you’re accessing. With HTTP they can see exactly what data is transferred and can modify that data at will.
So adding HTTPS here accomplishes:
None of these are really an issue, so using http in this situation is fine. In general though, I’d consider not having HTTPS as a bug for most sites, unless you’re extremely resource constrained on either side of the connection and you think carefully about the security and privacy implications