An outbreak with the destructiveness of MSBlast is forecast, if attackers exploit a ‘critical’ Microsoft flaw. A program that exploits a software vulnerability Microsoft recently described could spell trouble for companies that haven’t quickly patched their system, security experts said this week. Released on a security mailing list earlier this week, the program takes advantage of a flaw in Microsoft’s Messenger Service to cause Windows-based computers to crash. The vulnerability affects almost every current Microsoft Windows system, leaving security experts concerned that independent hackers will quickly find a way to take control of a large number of computers by exploiting the flaw. “I think we are going to see a repeat of the (MSBlast worm),” said Vincent Weafer, senior director of Symantec’s antivirus research centre, referring to the program that spread across the Internet in August. The program used a similarly widespread Windows flaw to break through computers’ security. “It took three weeks (for hackers) to figure out a working worm in that case.” Full Story
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