Department of Information Security and Assurance

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    The Heartbleed Bug: An Open Secure Sockets Layer Vulnerability
    (International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2012-05-17) Mpofu, Thabiso Peter; Noe, Elisa; Gati, Nicholaus
    The Open Secure Sockets Layer (OpenSSL) is used to provide a secure platform for transactions that happen over theinternet. About two thirds of the servers on the internet use the OpenSSL platform to provide secure transaction over the internet. The OpenSSL is a widely used open source implementation of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS). Transactions such as online shopping, emails and online banking are carried out on the internet through the OpenSSL and other platforms which provide a security. Vulnerabilities have however been found in the OpenSSL that has resulted in a wide public outcry all over the world. A vulnerability referred to as the Heartbleed Bug has sent shockwaves all over the internet. From the study we conducted, the scope of the data that has been potentially compromised is astronomical and includes usernames, passwords, bank account and credit card numbers, medical data, documents in online cloud storage. Not only has all of this user data been directly compromised, but, what are worse, the private keys of the servers running the vulnerable versions of OpenSSL were also almost certainly compromised. We recommend patching of affected applications or/and upgrade to versions that are not vulnerable in order to mitigate the risks identified.