A security problem recently detected in widely used network software makes tens of thousands of computers likely vulnerable to a cyber-attack similar to that caused by “WannaCry”, which infected more than 300,000 computers around the world, cyber security researchers said on Thursday.
Reuters reports that the US Department of Homeland Security released on Wednesday the specific problem that malicious hackers can exploit to take control of a computer, and has advised users and administrators to pass on a patch.
Rebeca Brown, of a cyber security company Rapid7, told Reuters that there were no indications yet that hackers had exploited it within the first 12 hours since the discovery of the problem was announced. However, he added that researchers needed only 15 minutes to develop malware exploiting this vulnerability.
“It seems very, very easy to use”,
she said.
Rapid7 reported that it has detected over 100,000 computers running vulnerable versions of the Samba software: This is a free networking software developed for Linux and Unix. As is estimated, there are probably many others.
At the same time, Brown noted that most computers found running earlier versions of the software and can not accept a patch. Some seem to belong to organizations and companies, but most are in homes.
¨This vulnerability can be exploited to create a worm, such as the one that allowed the rapid spread of WannaCry”,
Brown said,
“…but that would require further work from the perpetrators!”.
Source: http://www.naftemporiki.gr
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