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April 9, 2014 5:12 PM ET
By By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and ANICK JESDANUN
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A confounding computer bug called "Heartbleed" is causing major security headaches across the Internet as websites scramble to fix the problem and Web surfers wonder whether they should change their passwords to prevent theft of their email accounts, credit card numbers and other sensitive information.
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Heartbleed creates an opening in SSL/TLS, an encryption technology marked by the small, closed padlock and "https:" on Web browsers to signify that traffic is secure. The flaw makes it possible to snoop on Internet traffic even if the padlock had been closed. Interlopers could also grab the keys for deciphering encrypted data without the website owners knowing the theft had occurred, according to security researchers.
The problem affects only the variant of SSL/TLS known as OpenSSL, but that happens to be one of the most common on the Internet.
About two-thirds of Web servers rely on OpenSSL, Chartier said. That means the information passing through hundreds of thousands of websites could be vulnerable, despite the protection offered by encryptions. Beside emails and chats, OpenSSL is also used to secure virtual private networks, which are used by employees to connect with corporate networks seeking to shield confidential information from prying eyes.
Heartbleed exposed a weakness in encryption at the same time that major Internet services such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are expanding their usage of that technology to reassure the users about the sanctity of their personal data.
The additional security measures are being adopted in response to mounting concerns about the U.S. government's surveillance of online activities and other communications. The snooping has been revealed during the past 10 months through a series of leaked documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Fixing the Heartbleed flaw still doesn't guarantee people's online data wasn't compromised, said Nathaniel Couper-Noles, principal security consultant at Neohapsis. "The horse may already be out of the barn, so to speak, if passwords or SSL keys were compromised before the patch was in place," Couper-Noles said. "It may take a considerable amount of effort and money to re-establish a nominal security level."
In a Tuesday post announcing it had installed the Heartbleed patch, Tumblr offered its users some blunt advice.
"This still means that the little lock icon (HTTPS) we all trusted to keep our passwords, personal emails, and credit cards safe, was actually making all that private information accessible to anyone who knew about the exploit," Tumblr said. "This might be a good day to call in sick and take some time to change your passwords everywhere — especially your high-security services like email, file storage, and banking, which may have been compromised by this bug."
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140409&id=17508814
By By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and ANICK JESDANUN
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A confounding computer bug called "Heartbleed" is causing major security headaches across the Internet as websites scramble to fix the problem and Web surfers wonder whether they should change their passwords to prevent theft of their email accounts, credit card numbers and other sensitive information.
snip --
Heartbleed creates an opening in SSL/TLS, an encryption technology marked by the small, closed padlock and "https:" on Web browsers to signify that traffic is secure. The flaw makes it possible to snoop on Internet traffic even if the padlock had been closed. Interlopers could also grab the keys for deciphering encrypted data without the website owners knowing the theft had occurred, according to security researchers.
The problem affects only the variant of SSL/TLS known as OpenSSL, but that happens to be one of the most common on the Internet.
About two-thirds of Web servers rely on OpenSSL, Chartier said. That means the information passing through hundreds of thousands of websites could be vulnerable, despite the protection offered by encryptions. Beside emails and chats, OpenSSL is also used to secure virtual private networks, which are used by employees to connect with corporate networks seeking to shield confidential information from prying eyes.
Heartbleed exposed a weakness in encryption at the same time that major Internet services such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are expanding their usage of that technology to reassure the users about the sanctity of their personal data.
The additional security measures are being adopted in response to mounting concerns about the U.S. government's surveillance of online activities and other communications. The snooping has been revealed during the past 10 months through a series of leaked documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Fixing the Heartbleed flaw still doesn't guarantee people's online data wasn't compromised, said Nathaniel Couper-Noles, principal security consultant at Neohapsis. "The horse may already be out of the barn, so to speak, if passwords or SSL keys were compromised before the patch was in place," Couper-Noles said. "It may take a considerable amount of effort and money to re-establish a nominal security level."
In a Tuesday post announcing it had installed the Heartbleed patch, Tumblr offered its users some blunt advice.
"This still means that the little lock icon (HTTPS) we all trusted to keep our passwords, personal emails, and credit cards safe, was actually making all that private information accessible to anyone who knew about the exploit," Tumblr said. "This might be a good day to call in sick and take some time to change your passwords everywhere — especially your high-security services like email, file storage, and banking, which may have been compromised by this bug."
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140409&id=17508814