US homeland security pushes Windows patch
Sponsored Link
The US government is urging internet users to download a new fix for a serious flaw detected in Windows Operating Systems.
The department of homeland security (DHS) is recommending that Microsoft technology users immediately apply the new security patch to protect against a vulnerability that could give criminals access to machines.
The hole in the Windows OS could enable attackers to gain remote access to compromised machines and delete information, install programs or even create accounts in the victim’s name.
Microsoft and the DHS’s US computer emergency readiness team (US-Cert) are working together to minimise the threat posed by the vulnerability and the team has issued its own alert, conducted a series of briefings with federal information security experts, agencies and critical infrastructure sectors.
A statement from the DHS reads: ‘Attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in operating systems routinely occur within 24 hours of the release of a security patch.
‘This vulnerability could impact government systems, private industry and critical infrastructure, as well as individual and home users.’
The Microsoft security patch MS06-040 is available for immediate download from the Microsoft website. A recent monthly Patch Tuesday update from the company fixed a total of 23 flaws identified in Windows software some of which have already been exploited by hackers.
