Don't Wait To Update; Serious Window 10 Vulnerability Could Allow Man-In-The-Middle Attack

Indeed, Microsoft “Patch Tuesday” has come and gone this month, but don’t just brush it aside as business as usual. This week, that group of fixes contains a solution to a vulnerability in Windows 10 that could allow someone to exploit it and perform “man-in-the-middle” attacks. It was reported to Microsoft by the National Security Agency (NSA) that has been given kudos for reporting it to Microsoft rather than creating its own exploit using it. Some may recall that this exact thing happened in the past with “Eternal Blue.”

A man-in-the-middle attack happens when a connection is intercepted by an attacker who uses it to communicate with the victim. Because it appears to the end user that it is from a legitimate source (because it was indeed originated from a legitimate source), it can be very successful. This attack can be used to collect whatever information the perpetrator desires. For example, the website that appears to the victim may look like their financial institution, but is actually one created by the attacker. None-the-wiser, the user enters credentials and the attack begins. That is one example. There are many types of these attacks such as browser hijacking, email hijacking, eavesdropping, etc.

There are some ways to prevent these. In this particular case, update Windows 10 immediately. If you have automatic updates enabled, this should happen, well…automatically. If not, you should take the time to do it now.

In addition:

• Always make sure the website is secure before entering information. It’s getting more difficult to guarantee a site is secure in this way, but if the lock isn’t there or there is no “https,” just don’t enter information. If it is there, do additional checks before entering data.

• If you’re performing financial transactions or other types that involve your PII, don’t do it on a public WiFi connection. If you absolutely must, try to do it using your mobile device’s data service.

• Make sure you have anti-malware software installed on all devices and that it’s always kept updated.

• Don’t forget to update your hardware devices, such as routers.

And as always, be on the lookout for phishing attacks. Don’t click links or attachments that you cannot be 100% sure are safe.

If you don’t recall Eternal Blue, it was an exploit used by attackers to create the infamous WannaCry ransomware. This spread quickly around the globe and caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage and forced large businesses to shut down for a period of time back in 2017.