FREAK! Apple, Android browser is open to hackers

FREAK! Apple, Android browser is open to hackers
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FREAK! Apple, Android browser is open to hackers With a newly discovered security flak, ‘FREAK attack’, millions of people while surfing the web on Apple and Google devices may have been left vulnerable to hackers.

With a newly discovered security flak, ‘FREAK attack’, millions of people while surfing the web on Apple and Google devices may have been left vulnerable to hackers. So far, there’s no evidence that the weakness the companies are now preparing to repair has been exploited by the hackers.

Researchers blamed the issue on an old government policy that was abandoned over a decade ago due to national security concerns, required U.S. software makers to use weaker security in encryption programs sold overseas.


According to experts at several research institutions who reported their findings on Tuesday stated that the weaker software was continued to be accepted by many popular websites and Internet browser which could make it simple for hackers to break the encryption that prevents digital eavesdropping as a visitor searches or types sensitive information into a website.


The researchers said that including sites operated by Groupon, Marriott, American Express, Kohl's and some government agencies; about a third of all encrypted websites were vulnerable as of Tuesday. Zakir Durumeric, University of Michigan computer scientist said Apple web browsers and browser built into Google's Android software is affected by the vulnerability but Google's Chrome browser or current browsers from Firefox-maker Mozilla or Microsoft are not affected.


To fix the "FREAK attack" (derived from an acronym of technical terms) flaw, both Apple Inc. and Google Inc. said on Tuesday that they have created software updates and the fix by Apple will be available next week while Google provided an update to device makers and wireless carriers. A computer security researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Matthew Green said that corrective action is being taken by a number of commercial website operators after being notified privately.


Even to help fight crime or threats to national security, the danger of government policies that require any weakening of encryption code is shown believe some experts and warned that those policies could inadvertently provide access to hackers. referring to the old restrictions on exporting encryption code, a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton, Edward Felten said that the policy decision was made 20 years back and is now coming back to bite them.

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