Behind 'Heartbleed,' a terrifying new internet security problem
Thinkstock
Internet security experts are seriously concerned about an implementation problem with some versions of OpenSSL (a cryptographic library that powers Secure Sockets Layer or Transport Security Layer encryption). So what's OpenSSL? It's basically that little padlock symbol you see in your browser when visiting a secure website. And the problem with these secure sites is called "Heartbleed:"
Even if you've never heard of OpenSSL, it's probably a part of your life in one way or another — or, more likely, in many ways. The apps you use, the sites you visit; if they encrypt the data they send back and forth, there's a good chance they use OpenSSL to do it. The Apache web server that powers something like 50 percent of the internet's web sites, for example, utilizes OpenSSL.
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