Friday, April 11, 2014

'Heartbleed' Online Bug: What you need to know

An online bug called "Heartbleed" is affecting a huge chunk of the Internet, which means that a password change is likely in order for hundreds of millions of
More than half a million sites are vulnerable that use the security system called Open SSL, according Netcraft, and have had to install a new security patch. Before this patch, private data on websites such as Yahoo, Google and Tumblr could have been vulnerable to hackers, experts said. This bug was discovered by a team of security engineers at tech company Codenomicon and Neel Mehta of Google Security.
CLICK HERE to perform a live Heartbleed Test
Joost Bijl, a product manager with the cybersecurity firm Fox IT, said that affected websites should be letting consumers know that a fix has been installed. But, so far it does not appear that any major website besides Tumblr have reached out to consumers.
Here's what you should know about "Heartbleed" and some ways to protect yourself:
1. Tumblr
Tumblr issued a warning on Tuesday, saying the blog site has "no evidence of any breach and, like most networks, our team took immediate action to fix the issue," but users should change all their passwords.
2. This Is Serious
Codenomicon set up a Heartbleed info website, saying, "Considering the long exposure, ease of exploitation and attacks leaving no trace this exposure should be taken seriously."
Codenomicon CEO David Chartier said that users on impacted websites should change their passwords, but only once the site administrators have appropriately installed the patch to fix the problem. It doesn’t help to change the password if the site has not been updated, though Chartier estimated that the fix is probably already in place on most of the major websites. The problem has been around for two years and was discovered last Friday, he said.
Chartier also said their investigation shows that Open SSL is used by at least 66 percent of all servers on the Internet.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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