I recently discussed a vulnerability that was discovered within Debian's implementation of OpenSSL. This vulnerability poses a significant risk to users who generated unknowingly "weak" keys, and could potentially affect thousands and thousands of systems.

In a recent bold press release, VeriSign announced a program allowing users to reissue SSL certificates free of charge, for 30 days. It is extremely important to note that the vulnerability was not related in any way to VeriSign's technology, however, citing corporate citizenship as the cause for the offer.

"While there's no fundamental vulnerability that exists inside VeriSign, GeoTrust, thawte or RapidSSL Certificates, VeriSign recognizes that a secure Internet is essential to the success of online commerce," said Chris Babel, senior vice president, SSL, VeriSign. "For that reason we're initiating this effort to replace any questionable SSL Certificate free of charge. Any unsafe certificate requires immediate replacement, and online businesses have no time to lose. We encourage them to take action as soon as possible."

This statement and response by VeriSign clearly illustrates that global Internet security is everyone's responsibility. What's even more clear is that VeriSign is genuinely dedicated to keeping information secure, even if they weren't responsible for a vulnerability. I honestly hope that other companies will learn from VeriSign's proactive and generous actions toward the Internet community, and demonstrate similar behavior. More than ever, demonstrated actions of corporate citizenship are incredibly important in preventing major problems.

If you're an affected customer and would like more information regarding this offer, please see the links below:

VeriSign branded SSL Certificates:
http://www.verisign.com/ssl/current-ssl-customers/manage-ssl-certificates/index.html#revoke

thawte branded SSL Certificates:
http://www.thawte.com/reissue/?click=buyssl-buttonsleft

GeoTrust branded SSL Certificates:
http://www.geotrust.com/resources/cert_reissuance/index.asp

RapidSSL branded SSL Certificates:
https://products.geotrust.com/geocenter/reissuance/reissue.do