At DECODE, we explore the interactions between technology, internet cultures and society. A product of @boomlive_in to help keep the Internet clean.
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eMudhra has also announced its exit from the SSL/TLS certification business.
But is the threat over? Not necessarily. Older devices and unpatched software may not stop trusting the affected certificates immediately.
MeitY said the impact on Indian websites and apps was “very limited”. On October 21, CERT-In issued an advisory.
The government later formed a special team to investigate the incident.
eMudhra said it had withdrawn the eight certificates, and maintained that its infrastructure was not compromised and no data breach occurred.
It said social media attention brought disproportionate scrutiny to a business accounting for just 1% of its revenue.
Why does this matter beyond India?
Digital certificates help browsers verify websites and secure HTTPS connections. With the weak keys, attackers could potentially forge certificates to impersonate banks or email services, and make malicious software appear legitimately signed.
Who discovered the flaw?
An independent researcher using the alias ‘Wayne’ reverse-engineered and uncovered the weak keys, then alerted major browser companies, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla.
The companies moved to block all eight affected certificates.
eMudhra disclosed that weak private cryptographic keys linked to eight intermediate certificates had been compromised.
A flaw in key generation created weak keys alongside the intended, stronger ones. Some had just 3 to 8 bits of strength, instead of the expected 384 bits.
A security key as weak as the number 4.
A flaw at Bengaluru-based eMudhra, a digital certificate provider, raised concerns about the internet’s trust system.
Here’s what went wrong, why it mattered globally, and what happens next.🧵
decode retweeted
Cleansing your feed with the sweetest story of a man’s lost and found boat. Reported by @mofussil_scribe for @DecodeInternet
decodeinternet.in/life/lost-…
In Bihar’s riverine settlements, a local Facebook news page can be more than a source of information. For Janardan Rai, it helped bring his missing boat home.
@mofussil_scribe reports
decodeinternet.in/life/lost-…
decode retweeted
Delhi Police spent Rs 161 crore on 34 signal jammers, but questions remain about how they are used and who oversees their deployment.
An @internetfreedom investigation found conflicting RTI responses, with key deployment records classified as “highly confidential”.
@DecodeInternet spoke to Vikram Raj of Internet Freedom Foundation about the gaps in accountability and what they mean for our right to communicate during protests.
The women had created the group to help one another reach a protest safely. Instead, their private messages became public ammunition, their identities were exposed, and the harassment followed them offline.
@HeraRizwan1 reports
decodeinternet.in/digital-st…
At around 7 am on October 10, Delhi Police arrived at Vijeyta’s home in Burari and detained her. She was taken to Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana, where hundreds were detained amid the wider crackdown on the protest.
The consequences were immediate. Women received abusive calls, rape threats and repeated OTP messages from services they had not signed up for.
Some received personal details of family members.
An X account posted the screenshots, identifying Vijeyta as a “Marxist goon”. Other accounts amplified them, and news channels News18 and Republic aired packages about the group.
Then screenshots of their private conversations began circulating on X.
Messages about saffron scarves, tilak and kalawa were presented alongside a reference to Ajmal Kasab, stripped of the surrounding context.
On October 9, Vijeyta created “Women for Jantar Mantar” to help Delhi University’s female students coordinate travel to the next day’s protest amid metro closures and roadblocks.
The group grew to around 250-300 members.
decode retweeted
A WhatsApp group created to help women reach a Delhi protest safely became the basis for doxxing, rape threats and allegations of a terror plot. The next morning its admin was detained.
@HeraRizwan1 reports
decodeinternet.in/digital-st…
A WhatsApp group created to help women reach a Delhi protest safely became the basis for doxxing, rape threats and allegations of a terror plot. The next morning its admin was detained.
@HeraRizwan1 reports
decodeinternet.in/digital-st…