Heartbleed Information

Started by Jason, April 13, 2014, 03:25:55 PM

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Jason

I'm hoping that everyone has heard about Heartbleed and the potential security risks it involves by now but if not, please see below:

For full information, please visit:    http://heartbleed.com

Wikipedia has a good reference with scanners, etc here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartbleed

What is Heartbleed?
QuoteThe Heartbleed Bug is a serious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This weakness allows stealing the information protected, under normal conditions, by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet. SSL/TLS provides communication security and privacy over the Internet for applications such as web, email, instant messaging (IM) and some virtual private networks (VPNs).

The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the Internet to read the memory of the systems protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software. This compromises the secret keys used to identify the service providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the actual content. This allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users and to impersonate services and users.

CNN has a good article that explains it a bit more simply:  Click here


How was Charlottezweb impacted?
Fortunately, out of all of our servers, only our newest server was potentially at risk.  It was patched on April 9.    If you have an account on this server, I'd recommend changing your passwords to be 100% safe.

What about my other passwords for other sites?
I'm VERY glad you asked.  There are a few articles online that mention which sites you want to change your passwords on now (or in the coming days based upon when each provider patches their systems).  Please do not ignore this as your passwords may have been compromised.

The vulnerability of Heartbleed has existed for about 2 years -- it was just publicized mainstream this past week

CNN has an article called "Change These Passwords Now"

http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/10/technology/security/heartbleed-passwords/

This list is not exhaustive but is just an example as of the time of me making this post. 

Quote
Change these passwords now (they were patched)

    Airbnb
    Google, YouTube and Gmail
    Facebook
    Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Tumblr, Flickr
    OKCupid
    Pinterest
    Wikipedia

Don't worry about these (they don't use the affected software, or ran a different version)

    Amazon
    Apple, iCloud and iTunes
    AOL and Mapquest
    Bank of America
    BECU
    Capital One bank
    Charles Schwab
    Chase bank
    Citibank
    E*Trade
    Fidelity
    Healthcare.gov (Health Department said "security protections prevent this vulnerability from occurring.")
    HSBC bank
    Hulu
    LinkedIn
    Microsoft, Hotmail and Outlook
    PayPal
    PNC bank
    Scottrade
    TD Ameritrade
    Twitter
    U.S. Bank
    Vanguard
    Wells Fargo

Don't change these passwords yet (still unclear, no response)

    American Express


Ultimately, I would highly recommend everyone to remain vigilant about using VERY COMPLEX passwords and changing them regularly. Always make them unique (don't use the same password for any two sites).

My ongoing recommendations continue to be:
1. Change your cPanel, individual mailboxes and Client Area passwords now -- not due to immediate risk but because it's good practice.  :)
2. Regularly change your passwords.  Monthly would be great or even more often if you travel and access sites from untrusted computers and/or networks.
3. Always use very complex passwords (for example:  ud@9!p;)gXR2Mi6$c)
4. Use a different password for every site, application, etc. 
5. I personally recommend using password management software.  This allows you to remember one password to login and then you can have incredibly complex passwords for all your sites that are all unique.  I've used Keepass for many years now but there are plenty of options available. 


Stay safe and secure,
Jason