Cracks Emerge In A Web Security Scheme

Cracks Emerge In A Web Security Scheme

Like many computer security threats, a new weakness in Web commerce emerged today from the grass roots. Researchers said Dec. 30 they’d used 200 PlayStation 3 video game consoles to defeat a Web security mechanism in three days of computing time.

A team of security researchers from the United States, Switzerland, and the Netherlands demonstrated at a conference in Berlin Dec. 30 a way to create fake versions of some digital certificates that are used to batten down E-commerce and online banking Web sites by encrypting information sent through them. 



The vulnerability in the Web commerce encryption system could let hackers lure PC users to bogus sites in order to pilfer their information, while the users’ Web browsers continue to show the familiar closed padlock icon that indicates a Web site is secure.