Microsoft has issued a security advisory to acknowledge a denial-of-service flaw affecting its newest operating systems — Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Researcher
"The way an attacker would used this online is hosting a web page that contains a specially crafted URI. A user that browsed to that Web site will force an SMB connection to an SMB server controlled by the attacker, which would then send a malicious response back to the user. This response would cause the user’s system to stop responding until manually restarted. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a specially crafted Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to convince them to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes them to the attacker’s site."
If users don't get the patch, Microsoft recommends that affected users block TCP ports 139 and 445 at the firewall. Windows users should also block all SMB communications to and from the Internet to help prevent attacks.
I thought this was funny because in the post below, it talks about the possible vulnerabilities that new programs present. It shows here that new programs will have holes that hackers are waiting to find. It makes it seem like no matter how on top of it a program may seem, it still will be vulnerable.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=4938&tag=nl.e589
Posts
The original poster makes an interesting point, that hackers always seem to be a step ahead of the game. I think this comes from a problem that many of us can identify with, the difficulty of critiquing your own work. Even though Microsoft has their own "hacker team" to test programs, I feel that black hat hackers are more motivated to find the weaknesses. The key for Microsoft is to react with patches or workarounds before the weaknesses is largely exploited.
ReplyDeleteI think things like this are the reasons that companies are sometimes tempted to hire "repented" black hat hackers to join their security teams. They just see things differently from someone who has never tried doing illegal things. At the same time, how do you ever know if someone has truly changed? Hiring a former black hat hacker could also be seen as a reward for doing a crime.
ReplyDeleteBeyond motivation, it's also important to note that a small team of white hat hackers within Microsoft can't keep up with hackers outside the company, just due to sheer numbers.
ReplyDeleteClientele is a big part of why Microsoft's products are so targeted, as well. Windows is the primary OS at a lot of big corporations, so hackers target Windows because it has the biggest potential payoff.
Hey mac...did you hear the news??? Windows 7 is out and it's not going to have any of the problems that my old operating system had...trust me.
ReplyDeleteHaha I cannot help but laugh at how terrible the Windows 7 developers must be feeling about this breach. After all of the marketing Windows put out for this operating system premised primarily upon its security, I have to admit that they had me convinced. I'm glad I waited around for others to be the guinea pigs.
ReplyDeleteThe combination of a DoS attack with the phishing-like attack that the hackers engineered is pretty genius. By initially getting the victims frustrated that their brand new operating system is "malfunctioning," they will be much more likely to seek help as quickly and as easily as they can, which is exactly what the spear phisher capitalized on.