DNS Security Patch Released

By DT Staff Published October 25, 2009

A security patch has been released for a dangerous error we didn’t even known existed.

The BBC reports that about six months ago security expert Dan Kaminsky discovered an error in the Domain Name System (DNS), under which criminals could redirect people to fake web pages, even if they’d typed the correct name.

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The DNS converts the words typed into a numerical address that’s used to route all Internet traffic.

Exploiting an error like that would make phishing scams simple – people would think they were at their bank website and happily type in personal details, which the criminals could then harvest.

Back in March Kaminsky began talks with Microsoft, Sun and others and became part of a secret team very quietly developing a patch for the error, which has now been released for all computer platforms. No technical details will be released about the patch for another month to allow companies to patch their computers.

"People should be concerned but they should not be panicking," said Kaminsky.

For PCs, the patch will be available through the usual automated updates.

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