* U.S. government urged users to disable Java on Thursday
* Bugs in Java make PCs vulnerable to cybercrimes
* Update sets security settings at “high” by default
By Jim Finkle
BOSTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Oracle Corp released an
emergency update to its Java software for surfing the Web on
Sunday, but security experts said the update fails to protect
PCs from attack by hackers intent on committing cyber crimes.
The software maker released the update just days after the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged PC users to disable
the program because of bugs in the software that were being
exploited to commit identity theft and other crimes.
Oracle’s failure to quickly secure the software means that
PCs running Java in their browsers remain vulnerable to attack
by criminals seeking to steal credit-card numbers, banking
credentials, passwords and commit other types of computer
crimes.
Adam Gowdiak, a researcher with Poland’s Security
Explorations who has discovered several bugs in the software
over the past year, said that the update from Oracle leaves
unfixed several critical security flaws.
“We don’t dare to tell users that it’s safe to enable Java
again,” said Gowdiak.
Some security consultants are advising businesses to remove
Java from the browsers of all employees except for those who
absolutely need to use the technology for critical business
purposes.
HD Moore, chief security officer with Rapid7, a company that
helps businesses identify critical security vulnerabilities in
their networks, said it could take two years for Oracle to fix
all the security bugs that have currently been identified in the
version of Java that is used for surfing the Web.
“The safest thing to do at this point is just assume that
Java is always going to be vulnerable. Folks don’t really need
Java on their desktop,” Moore said.
An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment.
ORACLE’S UPDATE
Oracle said on its security blog on Sunday that its update
fixed two vulnerabilities in the version of Java 7 for Web
browsers.
It said that it also switched Java’s security settings to
“high” by default, making it more difficult for suspicious
programs to run on a personal computer without the knowledge of
the user.
Java is a computer language that enables programmers to
write software utilizing just one set of code that will run on
virtually any type of computer, including ones that use
Microsoft Corp’s Windows, Apple Inc’s OS X and
Linux, an operating system widely employed by corporations.
One version is installed in Internet browsers to access web
content. Separate versions are installed directly on PCs, server
computers and other devices including phones, webcams, and
Blu-ray players.
The Department of Homeland Security and computer security
experts said on Thursday that hackers figured out how to exploit
the bug in a version of Java used with Internet browsers to
install malicious software on PCs. That has enabled them to
commit crimes from identity theft to making infected computers
part of an ad-hoc networks that used to attack websites.
Oracle said that the flaws only affect Java 7, the program’s
most-recent version, and versions of Java software designed to
run on browsers.
Java is so widely used that the software has become a prime
target for hackers. Last year, Java surpassed Adobe Systems
Inc’s Reader software as the most frequently attacked
piece of software, according to security software maker
Kaspersky Lab.
Java was responsible for 50 percent of all cyberattacks last
year in which hackers broke into computers by exploiting
software bugs, according to Kaspersky. That was followed by
Adobe Reader, which was involved in 28 percent of all incidents.
Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer were involved in about 3
percent of incidents, according to the survey.
The Department of Homeland Security said attackers could
trick targets into visiting malicious websites that would infect
their PCs with software capable of exploiting the bug in Java.
It said an attacker could also infect a legitimate website
by uploading malicious software that would infect machines of
computer users who trust that site because they have previously
visited it without experiencing any problems.
Security experts have been scrutinizing the safety of Java
since a similar security scare in August, which prompted some of
them to advise using the software only on an as-needed basis.
Meanwhile, Microsoft said on Sunday that would it release an
update on Monday to fix a previously disclosed flaw in Internet
Explorer versions 6, 7 and 8 that made PCs vulnerable to attacks
in which hackers can gain remote control of the machines.
Microsoft previously released a temporary fix to prevent such
attacks.
