Heartbleed bug runs riot with online data
Heartbleed bug runs riot with online data
Around half a million sites worldwide have been rendered insecure as a result of the so-called ‘Heartbleed’ bug that is sweeping the internet, according to experts.
The security bug allows for encrypted data to be stolen, resulting in numerous leading technology firms advising the public to change their online passwords to prevent what could be a “catastrophic” security breach. Independent data security expert Bruce Schneier, commented: "On the scale of 1 to 10, this is an 11."
Heartbleed, the nickname given to a bug in a piece of security software used by almost every secure website on the internet, has dominated headlines worldwide. Researchers from Codenomicon, a provider of preemptive and robustness security testing solutions, have revealed that the fault can be found in the OpenSSL package that is used by email providers, banks and online retailers, among many other companies.
Yahoo! has been one of the worst companies affected. It posted a warning on its blogging site Tumblr that read: “The little lock icon we all trusted to keep our passwords, personal emails, and credit cards safe, was actually making all that private information accessible.”
Codenomicon has advised that “it’s a good idea to change the passwords on all the updated web portals” in case your passwords have been stolen.
The Heartbleed bug is said to have been released in March 2012 and since spent two years “running wild” before being detected. As such it is hard to know how many security breaches there have been or how much data – both for individuals and for businesses – might have been compromised.
Most of the websites and companies affected by the bug are said to have updated their software and security certificates to eradicate the problem while others, particularly small website owners, will still need to take this step.
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