Computer Hackers Target ‘Unprotected’ iTunes

By MARK PRIGG

COMPUTER hackers are targeting programs including iTunes and virus protection software in a new generation of attacks, experts warned today.

The world’s leading internet security body said hackers were turning away from Microsoft programs in favour of other applications.

Media players such as RealPlayer and iTunes are vulnerable because they do not update automatically with new protection, as Microsoft Windows does.

SANS Institute director Alan Paller said: “We’ve gone back to the stone age.

This is as bad as six years ago when everyone was screaming at Microsoft to protect its operating system.” He warned that it could take up to four years to bring desktop software programs up to the standards of security Microsoft now has.

He said governments, as the biggest buyers of software, must insist it meets the toughest security standards.