Huge tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, RackSpace, VMware, NetApp, and Cisco, together with pioneer computing hardware names like Dell, Fujitsu, and IBM are setting up a new project together called the Core Infrastructure Initiative (CII) in response to the recent Heartbleed virus crisis.

CII will act as a primary but independent support body to the OpenSSL Software Foundation led by Steve Marquess, which receives about $2,000 per year in donations.

According to the CII mission statement, "The Core Infrastructure Initiative is a multi-million dollar project housed at The Linux Foundation to fund open source projects that are in the critical path for core computing functions."

The project is also under The Linux Foundation.

Other groups consisting of top open source developers and industry stakeholders have expressed support for the project, and there is a consensus that the new initiative will help to make the Internet more secure.

One of the goals of CII is to conduct evaluation of "open source projects that are essential to global computing infrastructure and are experiencing under-investment."

At the time of writing, CII has already received $3.9 million worth of pledges, with a majority of the funds going to OpenSSL. Executive Director Jim Zemlin of the Linux Foundation commented that the effort should have started three years ago, at the time when the "Heartbleed" virus did not yet exist.

The Heartbleed virus can cause significant security threats went activated. In a typical exchange of messaging from a secured OpenSSL website, say Gmail or Facebook, one computer transmits a small packet of data called the "heartbeat" to check if the connection is still active. When such an exchange is compromised, the virus can trick the other computer to send stored data, compromising potentially confidential information.

Software developers have already released a Heartbleed testing website that can check whether a particular URL is safe from Heartbleed or not. Users should check out websites there to make sure they have been upgraded to eliminate the threat before they take security measures such as changing passwords.

Stephen Solis-Reyes, 19, has already been charged with a felony for stealing personal information from the Canadian Tax Agency. The Heartbleed virus allowed him to steal data similar to U.S. social security numbers. He is scheduled to attend trial on July 17.