Press Release F-Secure 30/01/2010

F-Secure Internet Security 2010 blocked “Operation Aurora” before it happened

F-Secure Internet Security 2010 has a unique feature called Exploit Shield which blocked the “Aurora” Internet Explorer exploit proactively. It did this before the attacks were made and before anyone knew about the vulnerability.

Helsinki, Finland – January 20, 2010: F-Secure’s powerful Exploit Shield, a feature in Internet Security 2010 and F-Secure’s business solutions, gives computer users protection against malicious exploits of software vulnerabilities such as the infamous "Operation Aurora" espionage attack against Google and several other technology companies. This recently discovered exploit for the Internet Explorer browser, known as CVE 2010-0249, can allow outsiders to remotely control infected computers.

New vulnerabilities are constantly being discovered and software manufacturers issue patches to fix these security problems while criminals seek to exploit the unpatched vulnerabilities in order to gain access to systems and data. Attacks against vulnerabilities which are not known by the software vendors at the time of the exploitation are known as zero-day exploits. Traditional antivirus solutions are only able to protect against attacks that have been seen and analyzed and provide no protection against zero-day exploits.

F-Secure Chief Technology Officer Pirkka Palomaki says, “F-Secure’s unique Exploit Shield has been designed to protect computers against new, unknown attacks during the crucial period before a patch fixing a security vulnerability is issued. That’s when the security hole is still open to be exploited by the criminals. The Exploit Shield kicks into action at the first sign of suspicious computer behavior, even without prior knowledge of the specific vulnerability and related exploit. For example, thanks to the Exploit Shield we were able to block the “Aurora” exploit proactively – before the attacks were made.”

The Exploit Shield also instantly reports new exploits and malicious websites that spread drive-by downloads to F-Secure’s real-time protection network. This means all F-Secure customers around the world benefit from better protection by getting a warning sign not to enter a malicious or hacked website through the Browsing Protection feature in Internet Security 2010 and Client Security 9.

The recent spate of targeted zero-day attacks against a number of companies also demonstrates that the F-Secure Exploit Shield is an essential armor for businesses in the battle against cybercrime and espionage. All the latest versions of F-Secure consumer and business products include the Exploit Shield as part of their Browsing Protection features.

The Exploit Shield in F-Secure Internet Security 2010 and Business Suite provides:

  • Zero Day Defense: Protects unpatched machines.
  • Patch-Equivalent Protection: Vulnerability "shield" updates.
  • Proactive Measures: Heuristic detection techniques.
  • Protection against All Websites: Whether they are trusted, untrusted, malicious or hacked.
  • Automatic Feedback: detected exploit attempts are automatically reported to F-Secure.

There's more about “Operation Aurora” and how F-Secure blocks it in our blog. The post includes a video of the Exploit Shield in action:

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001858.html

More about F-Secure Internet Security 2010:

http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA/products/

More about F-Secure’s business solutions:

http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA/products/business/

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