How Heartbleed Became the Internet’s First Security Superstar

For almost as long as we've had personal computers, I've been writing about their various vulnerabilities. Yet in all those years I'd never come across anything like Heartbleed — the Internet's first branded security hole

Almost as soon as security firm Codenomicon publicized Heartbleed's existence, it was clear this was something different.

Is Heartbleed the first Internet bug with its own Web site? https://t.co/M9u976X9ui Also, whither SSL?

— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) April 9, 2014

Heartbleed.com was a revelation. First of all, the OpenSSL encryption bug had its own logo: the outline of a red heart, ominously dripping blood. It's simple, powerful and most importantly memorable. Codenomicon's Heartbleed FAQ was the clearest security information page I had ever come across. It did not read as if it was written by a company that busies itself testing SSL for the Tier 1 network providers. It was smart and comprehensive, yet utterly comprehensible Read more...