Outdated Encryption Keys Leave Phones Vulnerable to Hackers

A government policy that forbade the export of products with strong encryption in the 1990s has years later left users of devices like Android and Apple phones vulnerable to hackers when they visit one-third of all websites.

Researchers discovered millions of devices and websites were using an outdated encryption key to secure their communications. The weak key resulted from a Clinton administration mandate that software and hardware makers use weak cryptography in products exported outside the United States. Once those restrictions were relaxed in the late 1990s, many technology makers abandoned the weak cryptography. But researchers said that the old keys were included in the code that is still being used in a variety of modern devices and websites.