Is the Kindle Fire Browser Secure?

The Kindle Fire has a special type of browser they call the Silk browser. Basically, what it does is handle most of the processing for a website on the server-side, leaving the Kindle Fire with little processing work. It also stores a cache of pages you've visited. The result is a fast browser, even though the hardware itself isn't too extraordinary. Other browsers have done this in the past, namely the Opera Mini browser. There's always been one huge caveat to browsers like this, they have a gaping security hole.

ZDNet addressed this concern soon after the reveal of the Kindle Fire, saying "Silk looks to be very fast and about as private as a bathroom stall without a door". Personally, I'd never use a public bathroom without a stall door, so this should set off a few alarms for people. But is it as bad as they say?

Amazon recently addressed these security concerns, saying they don't use the server to process or store secure requests. That means websites using SSL (https) will be handled by the Kindle exclusively. Common websites that use secure protocols include banking, payment, and even Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Amazon also told the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EEF) that the acceleration features could be turned off, sacrificing the Silk browser's killer feature, speed, for security. But, is that enough?

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