From: HuffPost/Tech
A critical bug found at the core of the internet could be about to cause havoc online.
Known as ‘Heartbleed’, the bug has been found in part of the code that runs encrypted websites, known as OpenSSL.
And yes, you are affected. Directly.
Most websites with any form of encyption, from email to social media, use SSL or TLS, indicated with a padlock at the bottom of the browser.
If exploited by hackers, the bug could allow hackers to steal virtually any information passed between users and web servers, including information that has already been collected, depending on how their servers are set up.
The potential devastation is enormous – if hackers have silently collected transaction information from online shops or even banks using affected versions of SSL, over the last two years, that data could now potentially be decrypted. And easily.
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