Another Security Vulnerability in Microsoft Systems - 2003-03-21

Authorities are investigating a hacker's attack on a server of the United States Army. The hacker's success was due to exploiting an unknown vulnerability in Microsoft software. The attacker accessed the U.S. Department of Defense server using a computer running Windows 2000 and Microsoft IIS web server. According to Russ Cooper, who runs a computer security company, the hacker began browsing files on computers connected to the server and transferred the information to an external computer. On Wednesday, Microsoft warned Windows users that there are deficiencies in all versions of Windows software that allow hackers to take control of the victim's computer while reading emails or browsing the web. Microsoft announced that the urgency of this issue is critical and urged customers to quickly visit www.microsoft.com/security to download and install a free patch for their systems. Mr. Cooper believes that antivirus software will be updated to protect those who may receive emails infected with this virus, and websites with infected pages can be quickly shut down upon detection. The virus operates by tricking Windows into processing unauthorized codes in web pages or email messages. The unusual aspect of this problem is that various versions of Windows, from Windows 98 to the latest version, Windows XP, which Microsoft refers to as its most secure operating system, are vulnerable to this virus.