Microsoft Vista - More security flaws revealed in the new operating system

By: Nadeem_Walayat

More security flaws discovered in Microsoft's Vista operating system, weeks prior to going on general release to the public next month by a Silicon Valley security firm Determina and a russian programmer.

Serious security breaches include :

• A flaw in Internet Explorer 7, that could allow hackers to take over any computers that visit a rogue website set-up to exploit the flaw in the browser software.
• Another flaw allows users upgrade their privileges on a computer, potentially allowing them to change system settings and to install software as well as access the wider corporate network.
• Another flaw found in Microsoft Exchange lets anyone shut down the mail server by sending an infected e-mail to the server

A VP of a Determina stated "I don't think people should become complacent," said Nand Mulchandani, . "When vendors say a program has been completely rewritten, it doesn't mean that its more secure from the get-go. My expectation is we will see a whole rash of Vista bugs show up in six months or a year." Determina executives said that by itself, the browser flaw that was reported to Microsoft could permit damage like the theft of password information and the attack of other computers.

The Determina researchers said they had notified Microsoft of four other flaws they had discovered.

Microsoft response is - "Currently we have not observed any public exploitation or attack activity regarding this issue," wrote Mike Reavey, operations manager of the Microsoft Security Response Centre. "While I know this is a vulnerability that impacts Windows Vista, I still have every confidence that Windows Vista is our most secure platform to date.

This further supports our view that users should not move to Vista during 2007, but rather wait until 2008 when these and other flaws have been fixed via service releases and patches.

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