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Researchers warn of online threat of digital flaw

Internet security experts are warning that vulnerability in the digital infrastructure of the internet could leave end users' online security compromised by hackers.

This vulnerability can be exploited by hackers impersonating even secure internet sites or email servers and stealing data, independent studies from researchers in the US, the Netherlands and Switzerland show.

Hackers can achieve this by exploiting a weakness in an algorithm known as MD5, which is used to verify that secure sites are indeed secure, say the researchers.

According to Arjen Lenstra, head of EPFL's Laboratory for Cryptologic Algorithms, the research was carried out to "stimulate better internet security with adequate protocols that provide the necessary security".
He said: "The major browsers and internet players – such as Mozilla and Microsoft – have been contacted to inform them of our discovery and some have already taken action to better protect their users."

The first significant weakness in the MD5 algorithm was first highlighted in 2004.

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