For in-depth analysis on this security hole, the reaction of the Department of Homeland Defense and how you can protect your computer from malicious attacks, tune in to CHUM Television’s CP24 (Toronto) tomorrow morning between 10:00-10:30 AM (EST) to watch Digital Journal Editor-in-Chief, Christopher Hogg, talk live with host David Onley. Visit citynews.ca for programming information.
Digital Journal — When the feds start warning about a tech company’s security flaws, you know you’ve got reason to worry.
In an unusual alert, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urged Windows users to plug a leaky hole in the Microsoft operating system. In a statement released yesterday, the DHS strongly recommends applying the MS06-040 security patch as soon as possible, in the hope of protecting against a vulnerability easily exploited by hackers.
The exposed hole could “enable an attacker to remotely take control of an affected system and install programs, view, change, or delete data, and create new accounts with full user rights,” the DHS wrote.
Although Microsoft issued a dozen security bulletins earlier this week, the flaw addressed in MS06-040 is the only one among the updates that could let a hacker remotely control a Windows PC with any user interaction.
What makes this item newsworthy is not the critical patch alert for Windows…again. It’s where it came from — doesn’t Homeland Security have its hand full with homegrown and overseas terrorism? It’s a sign of the times when the government starts poking its nose in the tech industry, perhaps signalling future tendencies.
The feds are now worried nefarious criminals can attack from all shores, even from your Windows PC. Since this highly vulnerable hole is prompting the feds to get involved, paranoia levels are likely to spike to Orwellian proportions.
What, the U.S. government wants me to download a security patch? Hmm, it would be impressively sneaky of them if they worked with Microsoft to create an update that let them keep tabs on everyone’s computers. Sneaky and creepy.
To comply with the government’s wishes (you are a flag-waving patriot, right?), find the Microsoft updates via the Windows Update and Automatic Updates tools as well as from Microsoft’s website.
For future Microsoft updates keep your eyes open for more warnings from the, hehe, DHS.
To download the MS06-040 critical update, click here to visit Microsoft’s website.
For in-depth analysis on this security hole, the reaction of the Department of Homeland Defense and how you can protect your computer from malicious attacks, tune in to CHUM Television’s CP24 (Toronto) tomorrow morning between 10:00-10:30 AM (EST) to watch Digital Journal Editor-in-Chief, Christopher Hogg, talk live with host David Onley. Visit citynews.ca for programming information.
