Six of the security bulletins have been rated as critical by
Microsoft.
Experts at Sophos have advised companies to keep up-to-date with
the latest Microsoft security patches and consider the benefits of
Network Access Control (NAC) in light of the announcement of
critical security flaws affecting the Windows operating system.
As part of its monthly "Patch Tuesday" schedule Microsoft has
issued 11 new bulletins (six of them described as "critical") about
security vulnerabilities in its software. The vulnerabilities cover
a variety of different Microsoft technologies, including Windows,
Internet Explorer, VBScript, and Office.
Sophos recommends that organizations roll-out the patches as a
matter of urgency, as some of them could enable hackers to access
data on a vulnerable PC or run malicious code such as a worm.
Network Access Control enables companies to control who and what
is allowed onto their network; blocking unauthorized users,
controlling guest access, and ensuring compliance with a business's
security policy. By implementing NAC firms reduce the risk of
unauthorized, guest, non-compliant, or infected systems
compromising the network, ensuring that only correctly secured
computers gain network access.
"NAC identifies managed, unmanaged and guest computers that do
not comply with your security policy, and acts a vital tool when
dealing with newly reported security vulnerabilities such as
these," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "You can
quickly tell, for example, which computers are incorrectly patched
or have the firewall disabled. You may then choose to automatically
fix vulnerabilities before allowing the PCs to access your network,
or simply block non-compliant computers. Whether your company is
running NAC or not, it's important to take these latest security
bulletins from Microsoft seriously and ensure that your business is
properly protected."
Home users of Microsoft Windows can visit update.microsoft.com to have
their systems scanned for Microsoft security vulnerabilities.
Sophos suggests that every IT manager responsible for security
should consider subscribing to vulnerability mailing lists such as
that operated by Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/notify.mspx.
Sophos continues to recommend companies protect their desktops
and servers with automatically updated
protection against viruses, spyware, hackers, and spam.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.