Tag Archives: Trend Micro

Defensive Security Podcast Episode 145

http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/01/security-firm-sued-for-filing-woefully-inadequate-forensics-report/

http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/01/et-tu-fortinet-hard-coded-password-raises-new-backdoor-eavesdropping-fears/

http://www.csoonline.com/article/3021774/security/trend-micro-flaw-could-have-allowed-attacker-to-steal-all-passwords.html

Vulnerability Wednesday?

Here is an interesting article on changing the social contract of vulnerability disclosures from the current, though recent, seven day cycle, to one that follows patch Tuesday, or whatever equivalent date the particular software vendor has for patches.

It’s a good idea, but I think the author missed an important nuance: the short 7 day notice is for situations where the discovering researcher has found evidence that the vulnerability is being actively exploited. In other cases where the vulnerability is not being actively exploited, the time frame is 6o days, which is compatible with the author’s idea. Note that the 7 day recommendation comes from Google and is available to read here.

I do not think that it makes sense to wait until after the next patch Tuesday in cases of active exploitation. The point is that users of the vulnerable technology need to know that there is a vulnerability being actively exploited, whether or not a patch is available, so that the user can take steps to mitigate the problem.