Encryption Flaw "Heartbleed" Creates Data Risk: How Insurance Can Stanch the Bleeding

In early April, news broke of an encryption flaw named "Heartbleed" that exposed companies to data breaches for over two-and-one-half years. Heartbleed is a vulnerability in OpenSSL, an open-source set of libraries for encrypting online services that nearly two-thirds of all websites use. The vulnerability allows hackers to steal personal information, such as bank account information, social security numbers and passwords, from companies, with little risk of detection. Given the length of exposure and the ease of exploitation, Heartbleed has been described by cybersecurity professionals as one of the biggest flaws in Internet history. And the technology community has not been able to stop the bleeding. In June, researchers found additional vulnerabilities in OpenSSL that implicate many of the same data breach concerns triggered by Heartbleed.