An expired digital certificate could gimp some devices purchased before 2017

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The digital certificate is an integral part of internet security, but an expired one can also gimp devices that are not updated. That’s what could happen to millions of devices after today. A digital certificate issued by Let’s Encrypt is set to expire today, which means internet connectivity for older devices may stop working.

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The IdentTrust DST Root CA X3 digital certificate is being put out to pasture, and smartphones, computers, IoT devices, gaming consoles, and other devices purchased before 2017 could stop working. This is only true if these devices use this particular certificate and haven’t been updated to the latest software, such as iPhones running iOS 9 and below.

The problem will primarily affect popular devices, such as iPhones running iOS 9 and below, Android phones running below the 2.3.6 software, Windows computers running software prior to XP SP3, Sony’s PS3, and PS4 game consoles, and the Nintendo 3DS.

“Certain older devices from 2016 and before and any gadget that has the word ‘smart’ in it that requires internet connectivity, like certain TVs, bulbs, fridges, and home control apps, could be affected by this certificate expiry,” said security researcher and cybersecurity expert Scott Helme. “It’s not clear how big of a problem this will be, but something somewhere will certainly break. There will be a bunch of fires tomorrow, and we’ll just have to put them out.”

Yahoo News

This digital certificate is one of the first significant certificates to expire since the internet started using them for authentication. According to Yahoo News, there is no protocol for dealing with the problem other than making sure your devices are updated. That could be a problem for those who never updated.

“There have been no squeaky wheels, so no one has ever oiled it. It’s a brand-new problem,” Helme said.

“Some companies have been proactive about educating customers about this problem, and some companies got lazy and didn’t do their homework and expect customers to figure it out on their own if issues start occurring on older devices,” said Leonard Grove, CEO of SSL.com, a well-known private commercial provider of digital certificates.

Yahoo News

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward from today. Do you have any of these devices still running old software? Please share your thoughts on any of the social media pages listed below. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.

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