…is what we were feeling after the past few weeks of “non-disclosure disclosure” about a purported super cyber bug called “Badlock”. It even got its own logo. Specific information about it, information of the kind that would help us prepare, was notably and frustratingly absent. Various IT security sources urged an “all hands on deck” to brace for a maelstrom of malware.
And then, April 12, “B-Day”. Badlock Day. The patch was released and the various exploitable holes were documented – and…crickets. Microsoft didn’t issue the patch ahead of its normal patching cycle, and didn’t even rate the hyped-up mother of all malware as “critical”, opting to grade it only as ‘important”.
The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf came to mind. We’ve been through several of these now, and while every call of “Wolf!” gets the adrenaline going, and puts us into “prep for the worst’ mode, it’s getting a little old – unfortunately, it’s too often impossible to know which threats will turn out to be truly serious. Worse, when the wolf really shows up, he only needs to show up once to the unprepared. And so, we continue to at least review each emerging threat as one that might be “the big one”.
One cry of “Wolf!” that may need your attention is the strong recommendation for all Windows users to uninstall QuickTime immediately (see the accompanying article here). This wolf looks to be real, has some sharp, pointy teeth and should be treated accordingly.
