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Concerns raised over web flaw

A new computer bug has been discovered which could have massive implications for global online security, the Guardian has reported.

American internet security specialist Dan Kaminsky found a glitch called 'cache poisoning' which has the potential to allow criminals the ability to redirect internet consumers to phishing websites.

Rich Mogull, a researcher at Securosis told the Guardian: "If a bad guy had found this before Dan did, it would have been very bad."

Cache poisoning manipulates the internet's address technology, called the Domain Name System (DNS) which lets users type in words to find websites instead of numbers.

This discovery has provoked companies worldwide into improving their computer protection by increasing online security and online privacy.

Dan Kaminsky, told the Guardian: "This is the largest synchronised security update in the history of the internet. The severity of this bug is shown by the number of those who are on board with the patches."

Dan Kaminsky is currently working with Microsoft and Cisco to address the online threats posed by cache poisoning.