National Security Agency finds 'extraordinarily
serious security vulnerability' in Microsoft's
Windows 10 that could affect 900 million
users - and tells tech giant rather than
weaponizing the flaw
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Stacy Liberatore
Original Article
Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk,
1/15/2020 1:04:03 PM
The National Security Agency (NSA) is starting the year off on the right foot by alerting Microsoft to a flaw in its Windows 10 operating system, instead of secretly weaponizing it.
The intelligence agency discovered 'an extraordinarily serious security vulnerability' that could spoof the digital signature of software that could trick a PC into letting malware in that is posing as a legitimate application.
The bug was uncovered in NSA's own research and by disclosing this information to the tech giant, the agency believes it is putting 'computer security ahead' of its own agenda.
The NSA came under fire five years ago for weaponizing a less sever flaw found in Microsoft's technology,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 1/15/2020 1:09:12 PM (No. 289291)
Knowledgeable users have known since the very day that Microsoft 10 got to market that is seriously sucked pond scum. Microsoft 10 has NO reason to live!
4 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
jhpeters2 1/15/2020 1:09:59 PM (No. 289293)
Ex IT. It maybe necessary to migrate the planet to open source. No errors could be ignored for profits and expediency. Microsoft embraces the worst of logic. The logic that states, "We will fix it when it makes sense for us to fix it"
7 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
bldrrepub 1/15/2020 1:19:02 PM (No. 289305)
I'm guessing this was a built-in backdoor for US intelligence agencies that had outlived its usefulness, or NSA discovered that some enemies found the backdoor and started poking around. The public nature of the communication from the NSA to Microsoft is curious and unprecedented - maybe to let the enemies know.
4 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
earlybird 1/15/2020 1:28:23 PM (No. 289313)
Gave up Microsoft and Firefox and all that 14 years ago and have never ever regretted...
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
LadyHen 1/15/2020 1:29:19 PM (No. 289318)
And didn't Windows 7 (which I never had any issues with) just pass the point where MS has stopped supporting any security updates. Their solution was and is buy Windows 10.... or else. Great.
11 people like this.
Who was in the WH 5 years ago, compared to who is in the WH now?
Could that have any impact on why they went to Microsoft instead of weaponizing the flaw?
Or, did MS know about the flaw, and wondered if the Trump administration would look to weaponize, and then "out" them in an October surprise type release?
2 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
DVC 1/15/2020 2:04:53 PM (No. 289367)
I am still on Win 7 and will stay there as long as is possible. I despise the user interface, pretty much everything about Win 8, 8.1 and 10.
12 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
snakeoil 1/15/2020 2:14:19 PM (No. 289376)
Like many I have numerous pcs. Only one W7. So when I turned it on today it said Jan 14, yesterday, was the last day of support for W7 and it recommended W10. So I tried to upgrade and was told my video card didn't have drivers for W10. So I think I'll just continue with W7 on this machine and see what happens.
8 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
SALady 1/15/2020 2:24:47 PM (No. 289380)
If you use a computer with any operating system, you are open to both the bad guys and government (which is often a very blurry line) knowing what you are doing.
Anyone who thinks they are "safe" because they use Apple or Linux are massively fooling themselves!!!!
If you are worried, either get off the grid, or be so poor and boring that nobody is going to waste any time on you. But there is a massive price to be paid for the convenience of computers -- and that price is the total and complete loss of privacy!!!!!!
7 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Lucky5 1/15/2020 2:34:33 PM (No. 289388)
Today is end date for any more support/security updates for Windows 7.
We have three younger members of my family all on Win 10 and I do not like it.
I work online and have Win 7 set up for what I use and need and Win 10 I have to do backflips and all kinds of inside stuff to get it to be what I need.
4 people like this.
NSA's involvement is to screen the OS for use on Government systems (known as Information Assurance). Even our most sophisticated and secure data transfer systems run on Windows and, like the rest of us, need to be upgraded to a sustainable system. As for no more updates to 7, at least there will be no more updates to 7 in the middle of the night and having to sort out all the auto-saved Excel files the next day.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
DVC 1/15/2020 4:07:51 PM (No. 289433)
Hint to OP. No Boeing aircraft model numbers have ended in anything but a "7" in at least 70 years. Probably just a typo.
0 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 1/15/2020 4:08:02 PM (No. 289434)
Years ago I was in a meeting with SVP’s and Microsoft. I think my boss brought me for entertainment! Our MS rep told us to call if we needed help! I giggled! He asked what was wrong. I told him given a choice between calling MS for help and setting my air on fire I would burn every time! He said, well we can’t just take every call...to which I responded, I’m supporting Application Development for three tiered architecture...I’m not calling because I want to change the colors on my screen! SVP’s were hysterical now...so to shut me up I got some magic 1-800 number for third tier support for large accounts! My problems were over! I run MAC at home!
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Hermit_Crab 1/15/2020 4:54:21 PM (No. 289474)
It is not a flaw...
It is a Feature.
4 people like this.
15 hit the nail on the head...this was not a mistake.
2 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Ken M. 1/15/2020 7:55:37 PM (No. 289580)
Win XP was like an old comfortable pair of slippers. You could do anything, tweak anything, and most importantly, understand all the behind the scenes stuff. If you wanted to change something to suit your preference, it was usually very easy to do. But Microsoft has become like big government bureaucracy -- getting bigger, while so cumbersome that no one can gain an understanding of how it works.
Steve Gibson is a software consultant who also is on contract with Microsoft. So he can't share many details of what he's doing with Softie. But he's written tons of really handy apps that can help with windows "problems". Check out his site: https://www.grc.com/never10.htm
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
hershey 1/15/2020 8:26:26 PM (No. 289592)
I refuse to upgrade to Windoze 10, and advise all my friends to avoid it like the plague...GO LINUX!!!!!
0 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Venturer 1/15/2020 10:12:06 PM (No. 289651)
I am in the same position as others here. I got the notification yesterday and it stated flat out that I should purchase a new computer with Windows 10.
Not being computer savvy I have grown used to windows 7 and will keep it till it dies.
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Strike3 1/16/2020 3:00:47 AM (No. 289744)
It took decades to fix some Windows security flaws but just try to adjust the brightness on your monitor. Paragraphs of instructions and steps that do not work leave the user wanting to put a hammer through it.
0 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
StormCnter 1/16/2020 5:46:08 AM (No. 289768)
I am still happily operating with Windows 7. I have all Windows updates blocked from automatically downloading and/or installing. I can select any I want to install and bar all the rest. My go-to tech has done the same thing with his computers except for one Windows 8 which he hates.
0 people like this.
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It will never end, these faults that Microsoft with ALL its profits, can't or won't fix before release. If this was a Boeing 738 Max, the software would be "grounded" until fixed for ALL its customers, which includes. US and the world. Continually despicable.