“Russian hackers have taken advantage of a bug in Microsoft Windows to spy on the Ukrainian government and a scholar living in the United States,” Jose Pagliery reports for CNN Money.
“That’s according to iSight Partners, a cybersecurity intelligence firm that contracts with governments. In a report Tuesday, the firm said it discovered the never-before-seen attack, which has been used by hackers in recent months,” Pagliery reports. “The bug the hackers used exists in all modern versions of the Windows operating system: Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1. It’s also present in 2008 and 2012 versions of Windows used by company servers. That means the vast majority of the world’s computers — nearly 68%, according to NetMarketShare — are vulnerable to this unique type of attack. Microsoft, which first learned of the bug from iSight Partners, released a patch at 1 p.m. EST.”
“The complexity and uniqueness of the attack led iSight to believe Russian hackers with government ties were responsible. Zero-day attacks (identified that way because they are brand new) are costly to develop, making them ‘typically the domain of cyber espionage teams and nation-states,’ said Stephen Ward, an executive at iSight Partners,” Pagliery reports. “‘The types of targets they were after relate to military, foreign policy and critical elements of the Russian GDP,’ Ward said. That included a university researcher in the American Midwest who specializes in Russian culture, Ward said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft’s Windows. The gift that keeps on giving.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]
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Isn’t the name iSight owned by Apple?
Only in the specific context, not universally.
my old standalone iSight camera (Firewire) purchased in 2003 still works perfectly.
The 12 people left using Microsoft Windows had their Zune playlists hacked.
You mean 68% of all computers out there are used by on 12 people?
You know he was being tongue-in-cheek, right?
It’s actually true. At least six of those people are from Ballmer’s family. The remainder are Paul Thurrott, John C Dvorak, Brian X Chen, Rob Enderle and a homeless guy in New Jersey.
…..and hís neighbour……
Whats was that you Windows IT Doofi types said about using a secure OS? Keep looking.
Hey, think of the shrewd business Microsoft created: become dominant by illegal means so that hackers will target your end-users, discovering flaws which they tell Microsoft how to fix! Note how little Microsoft paid for in that equation?!
ol’ Boris Badenov is gonna be outta work if he sticks with Windblows to hack.
…you see moose and squirrel go by?
So seems like such a bigger issue than nudie pic hack from iCloud but barely breaks into the news. ?
Funny how ethics and values go out the window when you are a practitioner of a dying art and your very livelihood is at stake
Anyone can exploit Windoz to spy on the west, east, mid-west, virtually on anyone. Just look at the NSA.
‘Patriots’ use Windoze! Serve your country by letting the NSA hack your computer. Curse you Apple! You traitors! 🙄 😛
Microsoft, why going back to soooooo much traditionalism?
Of course, one can understand your nostalgia of the past overwhelming monopoly you had over the informatics… (Is it why your XP isn’t touched by these flaws?) Now, the apparent comeback to an amazing “openness” of you (D)OS to whoever wants to get in might be a sign of a glorious return to these powerful days… But, allow me to doubt a bit about the results.
In fact, this all points towards a serious disaster: Your boat is nearby sinking.
What do you mean “a bug in Microsoft Windows”? That is one “bug” in an infestation in Microsoft Windows! Step on one bug and they will only use another bug to hack your Microsoft system!