Petition to phase out Internet Explorer 6 filed at Downing Street

 

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Posted on 2 Feb 2010 at 11:44

A petition, which calls for the UK government to drop Internet Explorer 6, has been filed on the Prime Minister's Number 10 website.

The petition argues that IE6 "has some security flaws that leave users vulnerable" and that we should follow the examples set by the French and German governments, who recommend that users should upgrade their browser to a newer version.

It goes onto say that IE6 is a burden for developers. "Most creative and software development companies are forced by government department clients to build websites for IE6 when most of the industry has moved on," reads the petition. "Upgrading would be a massive task for government, but if the public is encouraged to lead the way and the government follows, that would create the momentum needed."

The petition comes shortly after the Department of Health advised the NHS to upgrade to IE7 as soon as possible.

Despite this, the government continues to downplay the threat posed by Internet Explorer 6's vulnerabilities. Lord West of Spithead said that "there is no evidence that moving from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure" in response to a question tabled by Lord Avebury in the House of Lords. "Regular software patching and updating will help defend against the latest threats."

It's the latest move in a campaign to get rid of the browser targeted by most cyber attackers these days. The campaign gained momentum recently when Microsoft was forced to admit that a flaw in its browser was responsible for the attack on Google and another 20 (or more) large public companies. Microsoft didn't patch this vulnerability ahead of the Google attacks, despite first knowing about the flaw in August 2009 - several months before the attacks on the search giant.

Google threatened to leave China following the "sophisticated and targeted" attacks, which it claimed originated from the country. The internet giant has also announced that it will phase out support for IE6 from 1st March on some of its web services, such as Google Docs and Google Sites, with other services scheduled to follow soon after.

Currently, the petition has just 61 signatures and needs more support if it is to grab the government's attention.

Author: Tim Smalley