Claymore released the newest version of his miner for XMR, version 9.7, and among one of the features introduced is "- added SSL/TLS encryption support for better security..."

I see one incentive to mine using that connection being a reduced fee, down to 2% now, I also get that encryption improves security, but so far I haven't seen any pools offering SSL/TLS support aside from the one listed as a default in his miner.

My question is, what are the pros and cons of this SSL/TLS vs normal connections to pools that the majority of miners use? If non-encrypted connections are unsecured, to what risks, major or minor is one exposed for using such a connection?

Thank you for your time and information in advance!