One of the most serious software flaws to affect the Internet, nicknamed “Heartbleed,” was likely unknown before it was publicly disclosed, according to new research.

The finding puts to rest fears that government spying agencies may have been exploiting the flaw for surveillance activities.

Widespread attacks using Heartbleed only began about a day after information about it became public, according to the paper, published by researchers at several U.S. universities.

“We find no evidence of exploitation prior to the vulnerability’s public disclosure, but we detect subsequent exploit attempts from almost 700 sources beginning less than 24 hours after disclosure,” they wrote.

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