INTERNET users have been warned to change ALL their online passwords after the discovery of a bug that could bring down the web.
The Heartbleed bug has remained hidden on computers for more than two years. And security chiefs only spotted it this week.
It can unscramble the encrypted information that passes between devices, allowing anyone to access private information like passwords and credit card details.
The bug allows criminals to steal your most private information without leaving a trace. It renders the on-screen padlock icon – used by millions as a guarantee of internet security – utterly useless.
Top social network Tumblr, part of Yahoo!, has posted a warning to users, telling them to update all of their existing passwords.
The post reads: “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.”
Codenomicon, a cyber-security research group, has set up a dedicated website giving information on the bug; (heartbleed.com). It said: “The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the internet to read the memory of the systems protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software.
“This compromises the secret keys used to identify the service providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the actual content.
“This allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users and to impersonate services and users.”
It added: “For those service providers who are affected, this is a good opportunity to upgrade security strength of the secret keys used.
“A lot of software gets updates which otherwise would have not been urgent. Although this is painful for the security community, we can rest assured that infrastructure of the cyber criminals and their secrets have been exposed as well.”
The Heartbleed bug has remained hidden on computers for more than two years. And security chiefs only spotted it this week.
It can unscramble the encrypted information that passes between devices, allowing anyone to access private information like passwords and credit card details.
The bug allows criminals to steal your most private information without leaving a trace. It renders the on-screen padlock icon – used by millions as a guarantee of internet security – utterly useless.
The Heartbleed bug is a fault in computers that can give anyone access to the data behind that encryption, including passwords and credit card details, without leaving any trace.“This might be a good day to call in sick and take some time to change your passwords everywhere”Tumblr
Top social network Tumblr, part of Yahoo!, has posted a warning to users, telling them to update all of their existing passwords.
The post reads: “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.”
Codenomicon, a cyber-security research group, has set up a dedicated website giving information on the bug; (heartbleed.com). It said: “The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the internet to read the memory of the systems protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software.
“This compromises the secret keys used to identify the service providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the actual content.
“This allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users and to impersonate services and users.”
It added: “For those service providers who are affected, this is a good opportunity to upgrade security strength of the secret keys used.
“A lot of software gets updates which otherwise would have not been urgent. Although this is painful for the security community, we can rest assured that infrastructure of the cyber criminals and their secrets have been exposed as well.”
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