Technology
OpenSSL
The open-source library that much of the internet uses to speak TLS and do cryptography.
OpenSSL implements TLS, DTLS and the underlying cryptographic algorithms, and is built into web servers, VPNs, operating systems, programming languages and countless devices. Because it is everywhere, a serious OpenSSL bug (Heartbleed in 2014 is the famous one) can affect a large share of internet services at once, and patches have to flow through every product that bundles it.
OpenSSL in the news
Recent stories that mention it.
Related
- ProtocolTLS · Transport Layer SecurityThe encryption protocol behind HTTPS: it keeps traffic between two programs private and proves who the server is.
- ProtocolDTLS · Datagram Transport Layer SecurityTLS adapted for UDP: the same encryption for traffic that can arrive out of order or not at all.
- AttackSupply-chain attackCompromising a vendor, library or update so the attack reaches all of its customers at once.
Plain-language explainers written by SecurityTabs, matched to stories by name. All terms