The National Security Agency had been aware of the recently discovered Heartbleed vulnerability for more than two years and did nothing to inform consumers, according to a new report from Bloomberg News. Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg claimed that the NSA exploited Heartbleed — a flaw in common Internet encryption that left passwords and other vital information visible to and obtainable by hackers — to collect intelligence on web surfers.  Bloomberg cited “two people familiar with the matter”; Many on Twitter expressed outrage at the report, arguing that the NSA’s silence left Internet users vulnerable to cyber-attacks, despite the agency’s mandate to keep Americans safe. Since then, many popular affected websites, including Yahoo and Tumblr, have patched the bug and urged visitors to change their passwords to protect themselves.  Also on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security warned banks and other businesses that hackers may try to use the Heartbleed bug to steal critical data.  You can read more about the Heartbleed vulnerability here.