MESSAGE
| DATE | 2005-06-06 |
| FROM | From: "Inker, Evan"
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Microsoft admits MSN site hacked in Korea
|
Posted on Thu, Jun. 02, 2005
Microsoft admits MSN site hacked in Korea
WASHINGTON (AP) - Microsoft acknowledged Thursday that hackers booby-trapped
its popular MSN Web site in Korea to try to steal passwords from visitors.
The company said it was unclear how many Internet users might have been
victimized.
Microsoft said it cleaned the Web site, www.msn.co.kr, and removed the
dangerous software code that unknown hackers had added earlier this week. A
spokesman, Adam Sohn, said Microsoft was confident its English-language Web
sites were not vulnerable to the same type of attack.
Korea is a leader in high-speed Internet users worldwide. Microsoft's MSN
Web properties -- which offer news, financial advice, car- and home-buying
information and more -- are among the most popular across the Web.
The affected Microsoft site in Korea offers news and other information plus
links to the company's free e-mail and search services. Its English-language
equivalent is the default home Internet page for the newest versions of its
flagship Windows software sold in the United States.
The Korean site, unlike U.S. versions, was operated by another company
Microsoft did not identify. Microsoft's own experts and Korean police
authorities were investigating, but Microsoft believes the computers were
vulnerable because operators failed to apply necessary software patches,
said Sohn, an MSN director.
``Our preliminary opinion here was, this was the result of an unpatched
operating system,'' Sohn said. ``When stuff is in our data center, it's
easier to control. We're pretty maniacal about getting servers patched and
keeping our customers safe and protected.''
Microsoft's acknowledgment of the hacking incident was the latest
embarrassment for the world's largest software company, which has spent
hundreds of millions of dollars to improve security and promote consumer
confidence in its products.
Security researchers noticed the suspicious programming added to the Korea
site and contacted the company Tuesday. Microsoft traced the problem and
removed the hacked computers within hours, Sohn said, but it doesn't yet
know how long the dangerous programming was present.
In recent days no customers have reported problems stemming from visits to
the Web site, Sohn said.
The hacker program scanned visitors' computers and tried to activate
password-stealing software that was found separately to exist on some hacked
Chinese Web sites.
Microsoft said it was trying to decide whether to issue a broad public
warning to recent visitors of the Korean site as it examines its own records
to attempt to trace anyone who might have been victimized.
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