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Microsoft Blames Apps For Security Vulnerabilities
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2008-11-03
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Microsoft, typically the darling of security vulnerability coverage, says targeting the operating system is old school. These days, the bad guys are targeting third-party applications.
 | | Microsoft Blames Apps For Security Vulnerabilities |  |
The company's biannual Security Intelligence Report claims over 90 percent of disclosed vulnerabilities in the first half of 2008 affected applications, leaving just ten percent of security flaws for operating systems. Operating system vulnerabilities declined by six percent, but Microsoft still patched 77 security vulnerabilities.
This new set of targets, apps, may account for the rise of malware and unwanted software removed from computers, growing by 43 percent in the first half of the year. Meanwhile Microsoft vulnerabilities were down 33.6 percent. This is due in large part to the added security layers in Vista-though all those system-based popups wasn't much of a selling feature.
While half of the top-ten browser vulnerabilities affecting Windows XP are/were due to Microsoft-originating flaws, all of the top-ten browser vulnerabilities affecting Vista originate from form third-party apps-including, the company is happy to note, Apple and RealNetworks.
Otherwise the increase in malware attacks the fault of organized crime and naïve users. Thirty percent of worldwide malware is made up of Trojan downloaders and droppers, intended to obtain personal information. Access is most often granted by users too trusting of email attachments and instant messaging, something the company calls "the dancing pony problem" because users clicking on anything that looks enticing. Overall, vulnerabilities are decreasing while those left are becoming easier to exploit.
The biggest problems, though, are in the developing world. China led the way with more infected computers than anywhere else, according to data collected from Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). Japan was the cleanest, with just 1.8 in every 1,000 computers. The highest infection rate was in Afghanistan, with 76.4 computers infected for every 1,000. In the US, it was 11.2 per 1,000, a 25.5 percent increase.
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SecurityProNews is a daily online and email publication focusing on internet security issues.
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