The latest online security vulnerability could even affect consumers with less than perfect credit
Identity theft
Here at Auto Credit Express we find ourselves reminding car buyers that have experienced credit issues that the internet is not always the safest place to be – especially if they're in the midst of repairing their credit.
That's because just like most neighborhoods, there are thieves lurking on the internet hoping to take advantage of the unwary. But instead of ripping off your flat screen TV, these scammers want to steal private information so they can assume someone else's identity.
Heartbleed
We were reminded of this situation just this week when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, National Cyber Security Division issued this warning:
On Monday April 7 2014, a flaw in the most common encryption on the Internet was disclosed to the public. This encryption mechanism, known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is responsible for securing connections between users and remote hosts. Web browsers often signal the presence of a secured connection via a lock icon in the address bar… Any site using the popular OpenSSL cryptographic library version 1.0.1 is likely affected. The flaw causes web servers to respond inappropriately to a “heartbeat” meant to keep a connection alive. The inappropriate response includes random contents of the system's memory. This may include anything from sensitive information stored in a database (think consumer information, login credentials, etc.) to the private information used to make an SSL connection secure (known as private keys.) Adding insult to injury is the fact that there is no record of whether or not a system has been exploited.
What it means and what we did
In other words, most of the world's websites that collect sensitive information run the chance of being compromised.
At Auto Credit Express, we are fortunate enough to have our own highly skilled operations team. As soon as we were informed of this issue they immediately set to work, deleting the old cryptographic code on our affected websites, replacing it with an updated version.
The Bottom Line
While we realize that consumers with low FICO scores are less susceptible to identity theft, we certainly don't want to take chances with anyone's sensitive financial information. Especially for people attempting to improve their credit scores, having their personal information stolen could sabotage their chances for better credit.
Here at Auto Credit Express, we'll not only do everything we can to keep your information safe, we also want you to know that we're on your side. So if you're ready to reestablish your credit, you can begin now by filling out our online auto loan application.
Image source: HeartBleed.com
