Apple will be releasing a fix next week to remedy the newly discovered “FREAK” security flaw affecting the company’s iOS devices and Macs, according to Re/code. Researchers who uncovered the vulnerability in encryption technology said it could be used to spy on users of Apple’s Safari browser.
A U.S. government regulation banning American companies from using the strongest encryption standards for users from overseas — ostensibly so the government could more easily monitor that communication, according to some experts — left websites vulnerable to hackers who realized they could exploit the weaker export encryption standard to break into sites in a matter of hours.
The hackers could then steal data or take over elements of the affected websites. The bug left Apple and Android users vulnerable to attack while using hundreds of thousands of websites, including Whitehouse.gov, FBI.gov and NSA.gov.
