SAN FRANCISCO – Millions of people may have been left vulnerable to hackers while surfing the web on Apple and Google devices, thanks to a newly discovered security flaw known as “FREAK attack.”
There’s no evidence so far that any hackers have exploited the weakness, which companies are now moving to repair. Researchers blame the problem on an old government policy, which required U.S. software makers to use weaker security in encryption programs sold overseas due to national security concerns.
Many popular websites and some Internet browsers continued to accept the weaker software, or can be tricked into using it, according to experts at several research institutions who reported their findings Tuesday. They said that could make it easier for hackers to break the encryption that’s supposed to prevent digital eavesdropping when a visitor types information into a website.
About a third of all encrypted websites were vulnerable as of Tuesday, including sites operated by American Express, Groupon, Kohl’s, Marriott and some government agencies, the researchers said. University of Michigan computer scientist Zakir Durumeric said the vulnerability affects Apple web browsers and the browser built into Google’s Android software, but not Google’s Chrome browser or current browsers from Microsoft or Firefox-maker Mozilla.
Apple Inc. and Google Inc. both say they have created software updates to fix the “FREAK attack” flaw, which derives its name from an acronym of technical terms. Apple said its fix will be available next week and Google said it has provided an update to device makers and wireless carriers.
A number of commercial website operators are also taking corrective action after being notified in recent weeks, said Matthew Green, a computer security researcher at Johns Hopkins University.
But some experts said the problem shows that government policies requiring a weakened encryption code, even to help fight threats to national security, could inadvertently provide access to hackers.
