Internet crashes for millions, tech companies scramble as key encryption service expires



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The expiration of a key digital encryption service on Thursday has prompted major tech companies across the country to scramble to cope with internet outages that have affected millions of online users.

Tech giants – such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Cisco, along with many smaller tech companies – were still grappling with an endless array of issues at the end of the night. The issues were caused by the forced expiration of a popular digital certificate that encrypts and protects the connection between devices and websites on the internet. The certificate is issued by Let’s Encrypt, the largest issuer of such certificates in the world.

At least 2 million people have seen an error message on their phones, computers or smart gadgets in the past 24 hours detailing some internet connectivity issues due to the certificate issue, according to Scott Helme, internet security researcher and well expert. known in cybersecurity. .

“So many people have been affected, even if it was just the inconvenience of not being able to visit some websites or some of their apps that don’t work,” Helme said.

“This problem has been going on for many hours, and some companies are just starting to fix it, even large companies with a lot of resources. It is clearly not going well, ”he added.

MILLIONS OF OLD PHONES, LAPTOP COMPUTERS AND SMART GADGETS MAY STOP WORKING LATER THIS WEEK FOR A STRANGE REASON

Before the certificate expired, the issue was expected to be limited to gadgets and devices purchased before 2017 that use the Let’s Encrypt digital certificate and have not updated their software. However, many users encountered issues on Thursday despite having the most advanced devices and software.

Dozens of major technology products and services have been significantly affected by the expiration of the certificate, such as cloud computing services for Amazon, Google, and Microsoft; IT and Cloud Security Services for Cisco; sellers unable to log into Shopify; games on RocketLeague; and workflows on Monday.com.

This issue has gone under the radar of many big tech makers, including big tech companies like Apple, Google, Sony and Microsoft – none of which have made announcements to customers about the issues, Helme told the Washington Examiner Wednesday before the certificate. expired.

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He added that this was one of the first major digital certificates to expire since the advent of the Internet in the 1980s. As a result, there is no precedent for solving the problem outside of the Internet. updating software on devices and troubleshooting technical IT teams for each client or client.

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Key words: News, Politics, E-commerce, Cloud, Computer, Internet, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Encryption, Gadgets, Smartphones

Original author: Nihal krishan

Original location: Internet crashes for millions, tech companies scramble as key encryption service expires

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