Remember that computer vulnerability dubbed the Heartbleed bug discovered earlier this year, which security specialists said could put about two thirds of all websites at risk of being hacked? Well, now there s something even worse, they say.
It s called Bash and the Department of Homeland Security s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team says it can allow crooks to remotely take control of widely used Unix-based operating systems, such as Linux and Mac OS X.
This bash vulnerability is going to prove to be a much bigger headache than Heartbleed was, concludes Mark Parker, senior product manager at iSherif. He noted that the bug could affect thousands upon thousands of Internet connected Linux and Unix based embedded devices, such as DVRs, home automation systems, automotive entertainment systems, mobile phones, home routers, manufacturing systems and printers.
I anticipate that we will be continue to see the fallout from this vulnerability for a long time to come, Parker added.
The Bash vulnerability simply stresses the point that there is no such thing as 100 percent security, warned Steve Durbin, managing director of the Information Security Forum, an industry group. Consequently, we all need to take a very circumspect and practical approach to how we make use of the devices that we use to share data both within and outside the home and our businesses.
Illustration by KRT Archives
