The German government recommended that Internet users look for an alternative to Internet Explorer, after Microsoft recognized that vulnerabilities that have not yet been fixed may have been the cause of the attacks on Gmail accounts.
The Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik’s «advice» has already received a response from the manufacturer, who claims that the risk to users is low and that security can be enhanced by modifying the browser settings, a measure that does not seem to be enough for the German computer security department.
A warning posted last week by security division director Mike Reavey on the Security Response Center blog reported a critical, unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer and acknowledged that the browser flaw was used in the December attacks on Google and other companies.
Pending the launch of the patch, the company advised users of the browser to protect themselves against the possible exploitation of this vulnerability by changing the security settings to the «High» level.
«The attacks on Google were carried out by» very motivated and very specific people, «stressed Microsoft spokesman in Germany, Thomas Baumgaertner, quoted by the international press.» There have been no attacks on ordinary company users, for we do not support this recommendation, «he added, trying to» lighten «German concerns.
