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WHY IS THE LOG4J CYBERSECURITY FLAW THE ‘MOST SERIOUS’ IN DECADES?

By
Theo Wayt


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Back to Reading
December 20, 2021 5:28pm
Updated
December 20, 2021 5:50pm
Intruders leverage Log4j flaw to breach Belgian Defense Department
Parts of the Belgian Defense Ministry’s computer networks have been down since
Thursday after a cyber incident in which attackers exploited the Apache Log4j
vulnerability, government officials said.

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MORE ON: HACKING


 * SATELLITE PHOTOS REVEAL WORRYING ANTENNAS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA


 * GOOGLE WARNS OVER 1M DEVICES HAVE BEEN INFECTED IN ‘RUSSIAN HACK’


 * DATA HACKED FOR 400,000 PLANNED PARENTHOOD PATIENTS


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A newly discovered cybersecurity flaw is affecting vast swaths the internet from
Google and Amazon to the systems used to run militaries and hospitals, with US
Homeland Security’s top cybersecurity official calling it the most serious
vulnerability in decades. 

The flaw is present within a popular piece of software called Log4j, which is
part of the ubiquitous programming language Java. Log4j is used by millions of
websites and apps — and the software’s flaw potentially allows hackers to take
control of systems by typing a simple line of code, according to cybersecurity
experts. 

“The log4j vulnerability is the most serious vulnerability I have seen in my
decades-long career,” Jen Easterly, the director of the US Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, said Thursday on CNBC. 

Most hacking attempts using Log4j so far have involved attackers trying to
install cryptocurrency “mining” software on victims’ computers. However, an
Iranian hacking group called “Charming Kitten” has also tried to use the
vulnerability to breach government agencies and businesses in Israel, according
to the cybersecurity company Check Point. 

“The log4j vulnerability is the most serious vulnerability I have seen in my
decades-long career,” Jen Easterly, the director of the US Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, said. Getty Images

The Log4j flaw is more serious than other cybersecurity flaws because of its
“ubiquity, simplicity and complexity,” according to Easterly.

“It is a piece of software, open source, that’s in millions of devices from
video games to hospital equipment to industrial control systems to cloud
services,” the cybersecurity official said.

“It is trivial to exploit,” she added. “And it takes a very focused effort to be
able to find and to fix the vulnerability.” 



While there’s little that individual internet users can do to protect
themselves, government agencies and tech companies alike are scrambling to fix
the vulnerability. 

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency published an emergency
directive on Friday urging all government agencies to immediately “patch”
computer systems to address the Log4j flaw. 

Google, meanwhile, has more than 500 engineers combing through the company’s
code to make sure it’s safe, the Washington Post reported. 

Government agencies are scrambling to address the vulnerability.AP

Asaf Ashkenazi, chief operating officer of security company Verimatrix, told the
paper that coders across tech companies have been clocking excessive hours since
the Log4j issue was first made public on Dec. 9. 

“Some of the people didn’t see sleep for a long time, or they sleep like three
hours, four hours and wake back up,” Ashkenazi told the Washington Post. “We
were working around-the-clock. It’s a nightmare since it was out. It’s still a
nightmare.”

Even the Microsoft-owned online video game Minecraft has been affected. Some
hackers were apparently able to breach victims by typing a single line of code
into the game’s chat box, according to Wired. Microsoft says it has since fixed
the issue and is urging players to update their Minecraft software.

On Monday, Belgium’s defense ministry was forced to shut down parts of its
computer network after hackers triggered the Log4j vulnerability, the Wall
Street Journal reported. The ministry did not provide details on the breach. 

Most hacking attempts have reportedly involved attackers trying to install
cryptocurrency mining software on victims’ computers. Getty Images


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Filed under
 * amazon
 * cryptocurrency
 * cybersecurity
 * google
 * hackers
 * hacking
 * 12/20/21

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