Microsoft: Most malware rely on familiar techniques

Malicious hackers or malware that exploit vulnerabilities in software or services before they can be patched — so-called “zero-day vulnerabilities” — account for less than 1 percent of computer attacks worldwide, according to a Microsoft report released Tuesday.

Indeed, 99 percent of all attacks in the first half of 2011 distributed malware through familiar techniques like social engineering — trying to trick people into divulging confidential information (phishing is an example) — or through vulnerabilities for which updates or patches exist. About 90 percent of vulnerabilities exploited had security updates or patches available for more than a year.

That’s according to Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report, which pulls data from some 600 million systems in more than a hundred countries or regions. The company releases the report twice a year.

Microsoft also released eight security updates this week, including two critical ones for Internet Explorer and for .NET Framework and Silverlight.

Article source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2016479317_hackers.html?syndication=rss

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