The critical vulnerability in Microsoft's software has been
exploited by an in-the-wild worm
Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, has
proactively protected users against a new worm which exploits a
zero day vulnerability in the way that Microsoft Windows handles
animated cursors (.ANI files).
The worm, which Sophos proactively detects using Behavioral Genotype®
Protection as Mal/Behav-010 without
requiring an update, infects executable and HTML files.
Sophos's Behavioral Genotype Protection has been developed by
the experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of research and development centers. Unlike competing
products, which monitor running code and intercept suspicious
behavior once it has occurred, Sophos's HIPS technology completely
prevents malware from executing, identifying it at the gateway, on
fileservers and at the endpoint. The malicious code is intercepted
before it can cause any harm.
Microsoft has announced that it plans to issue an out-of-cycle
security update on Tuesday 3 April to address the critical
vulnerability in its code.
"Normally Microsoft releases security patches on the second
Tuesday of the month. Clearly the danger that the ANI vulnerability
represents has encouraged them to release a patch as quickly as
possible, which is good news for vulnerable internet users," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The fact that a worm has
been seen in-the-wild exploiting the Microsoft security bug has
raised the stakes over the weekend. Proactive protection has
ensured that Sophos customers are not at risk from this viral
attack."
Microsoft has published an advisory on its
website which discusses the vulnerability.
Sophos continues to recommend that all organizations protect
their email with an integrated security
solution to thwart spam, spyware and malware threats.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.