BBC News - Dutch security firm DigiNotar has filed for voluntary bankruptcy following a series of attacks by a hacker.
DigiNotar's parent company Vasco Data Security said the firm had been put into voluntary bankruptcy. A trustee for the business has been appointed who will oversee the winding up of DigiNotar.
The scale of the attack on DigiNotar began to be uncovered on 19 July when the firm said it first found evidence of an intrusion. It started to revoke certificates and an investigation was carried out to find out how much damage had been done.
An initial report found that hundreds of fake certificates had been issued and hackers had almost total access to DigiNotar's network.
The security certificates it and many other firms issue act as a guarantee of identity so people can be sure they are connecting to the site they think they are.
The fake certificates DigiNotar revoked were for some of the biggest net firms including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Skype.
It is thought the fake certificates for Google were used in Iran to peep at the email accounts of about 300,000 people.
Soon after discovering the attack, DigiNotar stopped issuing certificates altogether. Once wound up its business and assets will be folded into Vasco.
