Technically, the Heartbleed flaw is identified as CVE-2014-0160 and called “TLS heartbeat read overrun.” It is found within the open-source OpenSSL cryptographic library, which provides Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption capabilities for data in transit. The OpenSSL project first released its own patch for the Heartbleed flaw on April 7, but that hasn’t meant that everyone in the world has actually updated.
OpenSSL is widely deployed in servers and embedded devices including Android phones. To actually protect users from Heartbleed, there are multiple steps that need to be taken. For both servers and end-user devices, an updated OpenSSL package needs to be installed. On the server side, SSL certificates need to be regenerated and end users need to reset their passwords.
Read the full story at eWEEK:
Heartbleed Still a Threat to Hundreds of Thousands of Servers
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.
