Cyber attack on Europe exposes big flaws in Internet security

WTVR ^

[nuconvert]

The attack over the summer was apparently launched in Iran and compromised a Dutch company's digital authentication certificates. Without trustworthy certificates, users who think they're dealing with online banks or sites such as such as Google might actually be dealing with an impostor.

Reporting from Washington— A major cyber attack in Europe that apparently was launched from Iran has revealed significant vulnerabilities in the Internet security systems used to authenticate websites for banking, email and e-commerce around the world.

The attack over the summer wrought havoc in the Netherlands, where the Justice Minister warned the public last Sunday that the only secure way to communicate with the Dutch government was with pen, paper and fax machine.

The digital assault compromised a Dutch company called DigiNotar, which issues digital certificates, small pieces of computer code that assure browsers that a website is what it appears to be. The certificates also encrypt communications between the user and the site so that they can't be intercepted.

[nuconvert]

Google instructed Iranians to change their Gmail passwords.

[glorgau]

compromised a Dutch company's digital authentication certificates

Must be what Apple's latest security update was about. They revoked some root certificates.

[grey_whiskers]

Thanks, nuconvert.

Jeff -- "China is watching this" *PING*...

This will be the focus of the next 9-11 attacks, non?

Full Disclosure: together with the news of the missing MANPADs from Libya, and the North Koreans playing jamming games with GPS positioners aboard one of our military/reconnaisance planes, I'm not a very happy camper right now.

g_w