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Just as Microsoft finally settled its browser issues with the European Commission, the software maker is standing by helplessly as European countries warn consumers not to use Internet Explorer because of a critical vulnerability. Microsoft has issued a workaround.<\/p>\n
\nThe warning comes after Google traced cyberattacks against U.S. companies to a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in IE. Microsoft investigated and determined that IE was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks against Google and possibly other corporate networks.<\/p>\n
\nOn Sunday, Microsoft said it is only seeing a “very limited number” of targeted attacks against a small subset of corporations. George Stathakopoulos, general manager of Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing division, explained that the attacks detected to date, including public proof-of-concept exploit code, are only effective against Internet Explorer 6. <\/p>\n
\n“Based on a rigorous analysis of multiple sources, we are not aware of any successful attacks against IE7 and IE8 at this time. This is likely due to improved security protections provided by newer versions of Internet Explorer and Windows,” Stathakopoulos said. “In summary, we are not seeing any widespread attacks by any means, and thus far we are not seeing attacks focused on consumers.”<\/p>\n
A Possibly Escalating Threat<\/p>\n
\nDespite the “very limited number” of targeted attacks, Microsoft pledged to remain vigilant about the evolving threat and urged customers to take appropriate action to protect themselves. Microsoft is recommending that users with IE6 or IE7 upgrade to IE8 as soon as possible to get improved security. <\/p>\n
\n“Customers who are using Windows XP SP2 should be sure to upgrade to both IE8 and enable Data Execution Protection (DEP), or upgrade to Windows XP SP3 which enables DEP by default, as soon as possible,” Stathakopoulos said. “Additionally, customers should consider implementing the workarounds and mitigations provided in the security advisory.”<\/p>\n
\nStathakopoulos said Microsoft has teams working… <\/p>\n
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