One of the hottest topics in the IT sector has been the "Heartbleed" computer bug that was discovered earlier this week. It is a vulnerability in a piece of software called OpenSSL which is used as part of the server software Apache. Nearly two-thirds of Websites use this to create secure connections between the user's computer and the company server.
The problem is that there is a piece of code in OpenSSL that is vulnerable to hacking. Any criminal who knows where to look can access any data that is being passed between the server and the user. This includes payment information, email addresses, passwords and essentially any business critical information one can think off. Reuters is reporting that this vulnerability could spread beyond web programming to firewalls and even mobile devices.
This has caused much panic in the IT world and many organizations are reaching out to their users. Apple, for instance, had a spokesperson speak with Re/code, who said that iOS, OSX and other "key web services" were not affected by Heartbleed.
"Apple takes security very seriously. IOS and OS X never incorporated the vulnerable software and key Web-based services were not affected," an Apple spokesperson told the news source.
Despite this, many techies are also urging people to start changing their passwords just to be safe. This is a security breach that could affect millions of people around the world that organizations are scrambling to patch. It also highlights how important it is for companies to have a handle on their IT security.
