‘The Internet’s on fire’ as techs race to fix software flaw

Security experts around the world raced on Dec 10, 2021, to patch one of the worst computer vulnerabilities discovered in years, a critical flaw in open-source code widely used across industry and government in cloud services and enterprise software. Cybersecurity experts say users of the online game Minecraft have already exploited it to breach other users by pasting a short message into in a chat box. — AP

BOSTON: A critical vulnerability in a widely used software tool – one quickly exploited in the online game Minecraft – is rapidly emerging as a major threat to organisations around the world.

“The Internet’s on fire right now,” said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. “People are scrambling to patch,” he said, “and all kinds of people scrambling to exploit it.” He said Friday morning that in the 12 hours since the bug's existence was disclosed that it had been “fully weaponised”, meaning malefactors had developed and distributed tools to exploit it.