Healthcare.gov account holders advised to change password amid Heartbleed bug

Laura Pedulli | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

Federal officials informed individuals with accounts at HealthCare.gov that their passwords had been reset to protect against a security weakness called the Heartbleed bug.

In a message posted on the website during the weekend, users were directed to create a new password to view their accounts.

“HealthCare.gov uses many layers of protections to secure your information. While there's no indication that any personal information has ever been at risk, we have taken steps to address Heartbleed issues and reset consumers' passwords out of an abundance of caution,” according to the message.

The Heartbleed bug is a vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library that affects two out of every three web servers, according to the Electronic Freedom Foundation.

 

Laura Pedulli

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