Microsoft Roll Out Windows Updates to Block Exploits Used by Russian Hackers

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Microsoft rolled out this month’s Patch Tuesday updates to address a total of 57 vulnerabilities in its software, including several security flaws that were being used by hacking groups linked to the Russian government.

The software giant revealed in a blog post today that it worked together with security companies ESET and FireEye to patch the vulnerabilities, explaining that users who installed the previous updates were already protected, but this month’s release introduces additional mitigations to make sure everyone is secure.

First and foremost, there’s the Office remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability documented in CVE-2017-0261 and which the company says it’s been used by hacking group Turla (also known as Venomous Bear, KRYPTON, and Waterbug). The exploit involved a compromised JavaScript script that was delivered to unpatched systems and which was used to deploy additional malware.

Microsoft says the first attacks were spotted in late March, but users running the previous updates were protected, emphasizing how important it is to run a fully up-to-date system.

“Today, to fully address the EPS vulnerability and further protect the small number of customers who may choose to continue using the EPS filter, we released an update to address the Encapsulated PostScript vulnerability,” Microsoft explains.