In the open-source development model, when disputes happen and one group wants to take a project in a different direction, forks happen and that’s what is now occurring with OpenSSL.
The open-source OpenBSD operating system community has now officially forked the OpenSSL code and is building its own version of an open-source cryptographic library called LibreSSL.
The forking of OpenSSL is a direct response to the Heartbleed vulnerability, which was first publicly disclosed April 7. OpenSSL is an open-source cryptographic library used to provide Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) services to Websites and embedded technologies. The Heartbleed flaw could enable an attacker to read data from a server that is vulnerable. It’s an attack that has been used against the Canada Revenue Agency, as well as a client of security vendor FireEye.
Read the full story at eWEEK:
After Heartbleed, OpenSSL Is Forked Into LibreSSL
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.