Cookies, the files that websites create in browsers to remember logged-in users and track other information about them, could be abused by attackers to extract sensitive information from encrypted HTTPS connections.

The issue stems from the fact that the HTTP State Management standard which defines how cookies should be created and handled, does not specify any mechanism for isolating them or checking their integrity. As such, Web browsers don't always authenticate the domains that set cookies. ookies are also not isolated by port number or scheme. A server can host multiple websites accessible via the same domain, but on different port numbers.

Facebook's Internet.org project, which offers people from developing countries free mobile access to selected websites, has been pitched as a philanthropic initiative to connect two thirds of the world who don’t yet have Internet access.

The global digital divide should be closed and we agree that some Internet access is better than none. However, we question whether this is the right way to do it. There's a real risk that the few websites that Facebook and its partners select for Internet.org could end up becoming a ghetto for poor users instead of a stepping stone to the larger Internet. 

Public Wi-Fi networks — like those in coffee shops or hotels — are not nearly as safe as you think. Even if they have a password, you're sharing a network with tons of other people, which means your data is at risk. Here's how to stay safe when you're out and about.

Just because most wireless routers have a firewall to protect you from the internet doesn't mean you're protected from others connected to the same network. It's remarkably easy to steal someone's username and password, or see what they're doing just by being on the same network. Don't take that chance. We're going to show you which settings are the most important ones.

Scientists have identified weaknesses in the way popular cryptographic algorithm Diffie-Hellman key exchange is deployed – notably, they discovered an attack that could enable the reading and modifying of data passed over TLS connections.

The attack can be used by a MITM attacker to downgrade TLS connections to 512-bit export-grade cryptography that is weaker and easier to crack, thus enabling the reading and modifying of data. The attack is similar to the FREAK attack, except it attacks Diffie-Hellman key exchange as opposed to RSA key exchange, and is the result of a flaw in TLS protocol.

In a security survey asking why people complete their shopping online, 73 percent of respondents cited saving time as the primary reason. Shopping online can so easily be completed from a smartphone or tablet that its prevalence is rapidly increasing.

One report expects e-commerce revenues to more than double between 2012 and 2018. With identity theft cited as the Federal Trade Commission’s top consumer complaint for 13 years in a row, people have valid reason to be concerned about entering credit card numbers, addresses, and other personal information into a website form. There are, however, ways you can decrease your risk.

A popular coding website of the USA is enduring an onslaught of Internet traffic meant for China’s most popular search engine, and security experts say the episode likely represents an attempt by China to shut down anticensorship tools.

The attack on a service world-wide software development used by programmers and major tech firms appears to underscore how China’s Internet censors increasingly reach outside the country to clamp down on content they find objectionable. Security experts said the traffic onslaught directed huge amounts of traffic from overseas users of Chinese search giant Baidu Inc. to GitHub.

A lot of Android apps that have been downloaded 6.3 billion times from the Google Play store are still vulnerable to the FREAK bug. Research published Tuesday by the company shows just how vulnerable both Android and iOS apps still are to a FREAK attack.

FREAK is a cryptographic weakness that permits attackers to force data traveling between a vulnerable website or operating system to servers to use weak encryption protocols. If combined with a so-called man-in-the-middle attack, the data could theoretically be intercepted and cracked as the user is unwittingly using a lower level of encryption than believed.

Computers running all supported releases of Microsoft Windows are vulnerable to FREAK, a decade-old encryption flaw that leaves device users vulnerable to having their electronic communications intercepted when visiting any of hundreds of thousands of websites.

The flaw was previously thought to be limited to Apple's Safari and Google's Android browsers. But Microsoft warned that the encryption protocols used in Windows were also vulnerable to the flaw. The FREAK flaw surfaced a few weeks ago when a group of researchers discovered they could force websites to use intentionally weakened encryption, which they were able to break within a few hours.

Tech firms are rushing to fix a disastrous security flaw, stemming from the US government’s requirement of lower encryption standards, that for over a decade left millions of users visiting 'secured' websites exposed to potential attacks.

Experts have discovered a massive flaw that allows attackers to decrypt HTTPS-protected traffic passing between millions of websites and users of vulnerable devices, including Android and Apple smartphones and tablets. Researchers found that some websites that use SSL or TLS protocols, including government ones, are vulnerable and could be tricked into setting up a connection through weak encryption keys.

One more piece of malware adware has been thrust into the spotlight, one that also breaks HTTPS connections, but is arguably worse than Superfish, which was pre-installed on new Lenovo laptops manufactured at the tail end of 2014.

Experts reported that malvertising installs its own certificate and breaks SSL connections by creating a man-in-the-middle vulnerability that can be exploited by anyone to sniff traffic. Superfish makes Lenovo PCs vulnerable to malware and malicious attacks by pre-loading the adware. However, a new malware adware doesn’t contain the exact vulnerability as Superfish, it likely presents a bigger mess for users.