Certain devices such as smartphones, computers, consoles or tablets may no longer allow access to the Internet by September 30. Are yours affected?
The rumor swells. Smartphones, computers, tablets, game consoles… Certain everyday high-tech devices could be without connection or have problems connecting to the Internet on September 30, 2021. In question: the expiration of a security certificate. It was Scott Helme, security researcher, entrepreneur and international speaker who alerted on the subject in an article on his digital blog : “All certificates that feed HTTPS on the web are issued by a CA, a trusted organization recognized by your device / OS. These certificates are built into your operating system and are usually updated as part of the process. Normal update for your operating system. The certificate here that will cause the problem is this one, IdenTrust DST Root CA X3. “
Only a few smartphones affected by the “blackout” of September 30
Do not panic. Contrary to the first alarming information on the subject, only a small number of devices would be affected by the problem. In addition, they will not be completely cut off from the Internet connection, but will encounter connection problems to access sites or search engines that call on the security certificate having expired. In his article, Scott Helme specifies that the Android smartphones concerned are those which date from at least ten years ago because they are those which have not received version 2.3.6 of Android. He specifies that for Iphones, those which have not been updated for more than 5 years could encounter the problem. The complete list listing all the devices that can be without internet can be found on his blog. How to prevent your device from being impacted? Simply update by September 30!