Hackers patch Microsoft Word for Microsoft

Date: May 24, 2006
Source: Red Herring


Security experts said Monday that hackers have unleashed a malicious program that takes advantage of a vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2003 to control infected machines.

The vulnerability indicates that Microsoft’s battle over security issues in its products is not slowing down, despite the company’s impending entry into the antivirus and antispam segment later this year.

The latest security loophole is a Trojan horse that could act as a backdoor for hackers into infected computers and let them steal personal and proprietary data.

Microsoft has said it could take up to three weeks to deliver a patch to users. The company has set June 12 as a possible date for the release of the patch, but security experts are criticizing the deadline since the attack is a “zero-day” event.

Zero-day attacks are ones for which a patch is not available, which makes them among the most dangerous of security threats.
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