Yesterday, the tech giant Google issued a statement making similar statements, as they have done since the Linux Foundation (boasting that being open-source, most certainly are already solved). Among the big three, there was only Microsoft who left, and recently it has also made announcements regarding this leak. The tech giant Microsoft has mainly two operating systems: Windows for computers, and Windows Phone for mobile. On the leaked documents there is not a single word mentioned about the Microsoft Windows Phone, as there are several factors come together: their market share is very low (only 3 million users have Windows Phone in the United States), few politicians, terrorists or Influential people use it, and the system is fairly secure. The opposite happens with Windows for computers, with Windows 7 and Windows 10 as the most used desktop operating systems worldwide. These operating systems did appear on several occasions, with vulnerabilities and malware being distributed, among other means via USB, and running in the background while displaying a video with VLC or a presentation with Prezi. The tech giant Microsoft has taken three days to make statements, and have wanted to be careful and carefully review this information, especially after Wikileaks has informed that it will share the hacking tools with the affected companies so they can solve them as soon as possible.
Vulnerabilities in Windows 7 and Windows XP
In statements, those in Redmond have commented that the vulnerabilities mentioned in the CIA documents were outdated, and most were used to attack older versions of Windows. With old refer to Windows 7 and Windows XP, about which have been a few mentions, exploits and images in documents leaked by Wikileaks. Some of the vulnerabilities of Windows 7 and Windows XP have to do with the management system of Themes, or the use of libraries to help in the execution of exploits. The company claims that “security issues are taken very seriously and that they are still analyzing whether they have to take some additional steps to protect their software and their customers.” In the event that vulnerabilities are discovered, Microsoft will inform its customers and launch the necessary patches through Windows Update. Therefore, we can conclude that Windows 10, the latest version of Windows, seems to be free of any vulnerability that the CIA might have achieved. The only thing the CIA seems to have achieved is to develop malware, but patching and protecting it is the work of antivirus companies. But, I will recommend you to stay updated with latest updates and patches along with a good Antivirus. So, what do you think about the Microsoft Windows 10? Simply share your views and thoughts in the comment section below.
