Germany declares war on Internet Explorer

Posted on 18 Jan 2010 at 12:45

The German government has told web users to ditch Internet Explorer and find an alternative for security reasons.

The warning, which was issued by the Federal Office for Information Security, follows Microsoft's admission that a vulnerability in its web browser was used to attack Google's infrastructure.

Microsoft shrugged off the warning, saying that the risks are low and that Internet Explorer's highest security setting would prevent "any serious risk", although it limits functionality and blocks many websites.

German authorities responded by saying that even if you're using the highest security setting in Internet Explorer, the browser still isn't safe enough.

Microsoft spokesperson Thomas Baumgaertner said that the attacks on Google were by "highly motivated people with a very specific agenda" and claimed that there was "no threat to the general user".

The problem, though, is that details of how to exploit Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 through this vulnerability have been posted online and it's unlikely that there'll be a fix for at least a couple of weeks. Microsoft says that it is working around the clock on a fix and the next scheduled security update for Internet Explorer is on 9 February. The firm said that "an out of cycle security update" may be released to fix the hole.

Author: Tim Smalley

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