Apple fixes DNS security flaw

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Apple has finally released a fix for a well-publicised DNS bug that will protect both its Tiger and Leopard operating systems against allowing phishing attacks.

The DNS bug was first spotted by security researcher Dan Kaminsky over six months ago, but no news was published until July in order to allow companies to develop a fix. In an unprecedented development effort, engineers from Microsoft, Sun and Cisco jointly worked on a patch.

"This hasn't been done before and it is a massive undertaking," explained Kaminsky last month. However, Apple failed to patch the problem until now.

The flaw could allow attackers to redirect browsers to third party sites containing malicious code, even if they correctly entered the URL for a legitimate website.

News of the security vulnerability eventually emerged on July 8 from Kaminsky himself at a security conference, with a practical exploit becoming available online on July 23. This left Apple users vulnerable while a patch was developed.

However, despite fixes being available for other operating systems, many users are yet to protect themselves from potential phishing attacks by installing them.

Kaminsky warned last week that just over half of machines remain unprotected, which is "not good enough".

An Apple spokesperson this morning explained that the company was unlikely to comment on strategic planning matters, such as the release of security updates.

Tom Cross, senior X-Force researcher for IBM security systems, also today released advice in a blog posting about how organisations could deal with any possible vulnerabilities.

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