[Students] CITE - News of 'Heartbleed' bug

[Lydia Harkey]

Understand "Heartbleed" and Protect Yourself

There is recent news there is a vulnerability to websites through the
Heart Bleed Bug
(http://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-protect-yourself-from-the-heartbleed-bu
g/ ) and how it can leave massive security breaches of usernames,
passwords, and credit card numbers. 

*	What is Heartbleed?  Heartbleed is a critical security
vulnerability in a widely-used piece of Internet software called
OpenSSL.  The vulnerability has been around since at least March 2012,
but was only recently published.  It is unclear whether attackers have
been exploiting this vulnerability in the past.
*	What OpenSSL does.  OpenSSL typically is used on Internet
servers to encrypt.  For example, when you connect to a web server and
you see the little padlock icon in your browser bar that indicates a
secure session, that's often OpenSSL.  Think about your secure sessions
with banks, credit cards, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, you name it.
*	What can an attacker do using OpenSSL?  Simply put, the attacker
can read the data you exchange with that website, including, for example
usernames and passwords, copy it and access any information on your
private account.
*	So do the attackers have my username and password? Possibly.
There's no way to be sure.
*	So what do I do? First, computer servers worldwide need to be
patched, but that needs to be done by the companies that own the
websites - there is nothing you can or need to do with your computer,
smartphone, etc. at this moment.  This is a big deal, so companies are
patching their webservers right now.  In the meantime, pay close
attention to your bank accounts, credit cards, etc. and be on the
lookout for suspicious activity.  Then, on Thursday or Friday, change
each and every one of your computer passwords, everywhere.  This means
your University passwords, your online banking, Facebook, Yahoo, Google,
Dropbox - everything.
*	Has the University been affected?  As discussed above, there is
no way to tell if a webserver has been attacked.  The University's
primary web servers were not vulnerable to this attack. However, we are
reviewing all of our servers, and patching any servers that have this
vulnerability. The University will be keeping a close eye on any reports
of account compromises. 
*	Where do I learn more?  Just Google "heartbleed"  Also, you can
contact the helpdesk <mailto:helpdesk at tamuc.edu>  with any specific
questions.

 

 

 

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