Let’s Encrypt has informed on its website that the DST Root X3 root certificate signed by IdenTrust will expire on September 1st, 2021, which means that the websites that have it will no longer be compatible with software platforms such as Android.
Specifically, the company points out that compatibility will be lost with versions prior to Android 7.1.1, that is, 33.8 % of Android mobiles will show errors when the user visits a page with Let’s Encrypt certificate.
Faced with this situation, the company has indicated that “they have pledged with everyone to have secure communications that respect privacy”, but has highlighted the problem of updating Android, which affects precisely the most vulnerable users, those who do not they can afford to buy a new mobile phone every four years.
Until the DST Root X3 root certificate expires, there will be a transition period, starting on January 11th, 2021, when a change is made to the API to start using their own certificate, ISRG Root X1.
For users with older versions of Android, Let’s Encrypt recommends installing the mobile version of Firefox – it is a Let’s Encrypt partner and has support from Android 5 – because it has its own list of trusted root certificates to validate websites.
Source: dpa
