'FREAK attack' leaves millions of Apple and Google users vulnerable to hackers
Source: Associated Press
Wednesday 4 March 2015 03.42 GMT
Millions of people may have been left vulnerable to hackers while surfing the web on Apple and Google devices, thanks to a newly discovered security flaw known as “FREAK attack.”
There’s no evidence so far that any hackers have exploited the weakness, which companies are now moving to repair. Researchers blame the problem on an old government policy, abandoned over a decade ago, which required US software makers to use weaker security in encryption programs sold overseas due to national security concerns.
Many popular websites and some internet browsers continued to accept the weaker software, or can be tricked into using it, according to experts at several research institutions who reported their findings Tuesday.
They said that could make it easier for hackers to break the encryption that’s supposed to prevent digital eavesdropping when a visitor types sensitive information into a website.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/04/freak-attack-leaves-millions-of-apple-and-google-users-vulnerable-to-hackers