Australia’s cyber security agency has called for urgent Microsoft updates to be implemented following the first public release of the ‘BlueKeep’ flaw.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) issued a warning to IT managers update security on old Windows systems, as well as install a ‘BlueKeep’ vulnerability patch released by Microsoft last month.
The BlueKeep exploit was released publicly by cyber-security firm Rapid7 on 6 September using an open-source Metasploit framework.
The vulnerability, also known as CVE-2019-0708, targets the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) service in operating systems such as Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Microsoft earlier revealed that the vulnerability is 'wormable', meaning malware exploiting the vulnerability can spread between equally vulnerable computers.
“Australian businesses and users of older versions of Windows should update their systems as soon as practically possible before hackers further refine their tools and trade-craft in order to fully utilise this exploit,” the agency said.
As such, the ACSC urged Windows users to deny access to Remote Desktop Protocols (RDP) directly from the internet, or use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with multi-factor authentication if RDPs are required, regardless of the version of Windows in use.
The ACSC, which falls under the Australian Signals Directorate, first warned of the BlueKeep flaw in June, notifying government and “critical infrastructure partners” of the potential for “significant, widespread harm around the world”. ..
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