MEDIA ALERT: CHECK POINT’S ZONEALARM SECURITY SOLUTION PROTECTS CONSUMERS AGAINST OPERATION AURORA VULNERABILITY
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security preemptively protects consumer PCs from Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerability leveraged in the recent Operation Aurora attacks
REDWOOD CITY , Calif., January 27, 2010 – Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced that users of Check Point’s ZoneAlarm Extreme Security solution are protected against the zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) identified as the source of the malicious Operation Aurora attacks. Check Point customers who activated the browser security virtualization option that’s included exclusively in ZoneAlarm Extreme Security are automatically protected. The Operation Aurora attack, if exploited, can allow attackers to insert malware that takes control of the victim’s computer.
The tightly coordinated attack code-named Operation Aurora, exposes a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft IE ( CVE-2010-0249 ) to install espionage Trojans on targeted systems. The vulnerability allows for remote code execution and requires user interaction such as following a hyperlink to a website or opening an email attachment. When a user navigates to a malicious web page from an affected system, it allows JavaScript code to exploit the vulnerability. The vulnerability affects systems running on Microsoft IE 5, IE6, IE7 and IE8 running on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and on Windows Server 2008 R2 systems.
The sophisticated attack uses multiple malware components with highly obfuscated code, designed to bypass Intrusion Protection Systems (IPS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). The Operation Aurora attacks are claimed to have changed the cyber threat landscape, setting new standards for malware authors.
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security successfully prevents these types of attacks from damaging users’ PCs or stealing their information through its unique virtualization technology. This technology is able to identify any downloads that the user didn’t initiate and has no knowledge of. Such downloads are called “drive-by downloads” and are a major method that hackers use to sneak malicious software onto a victim’s computer. ZoneAlarm’s virtualization redirects drive-by downloads safely to a “sandbox” where they become trapped and cannot harm the user’s computer. The drive-by downloads remain trapped until anti-virus technology has enough time to identify and then remove the attack from the computer altogether. Thus, ZoneAlarm’s virtualization protects consumers during the first critical hours or days of an attack before anti-virus is able to provide protection.
Currently, anti-virus can stop known malicious software that is delivered through this latest Microsoft IE vulnerability. However, new strains of this attack may be able to get past the anti-virus technology. For more information or to download ZoneAlarm Extreme Security please visit: http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-extreme-security.htm.
About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. ( www.checkpoint.com) , worldwide leader in securing the Internet, is the only vendor to deliver Total Security for networks, data and endpoints, unified under a single management framework. Check Point provides customers uncompromised protection against all types of threats, reduces security complexity and lowers total cost of ownership. Check Point first pioneered the industry with FireWall-1 and its patented stateful inspection technology. Today, Check Point continues to innovate with the development of the Software Blade architecture. The dynamic Software Blade architecture delivers secure, flexible and simple solutions that can be fully customized to meet the exact security needs of any organization or environment. Check Point customers include tens of thousands of businesses and organizations of all sizes including all Fortune 100 companies . Check Point's award-winning ZoneAlarm solutions protect millions of consumers from hackers, spyware and identity theft.
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Media Contact:
Mirka Janus
Check Point Software Technologies
650.628.2070 press@us.checkpoint.com
Investor Contact:
Kip E. Meintzer Check Point Software Technologies
650.628.2040 ir@us.checkpoint.com
