JLab Cybersecurity Alert: Internet Explorer Vulnerability
As you may have heard, a recently discovered Internet Explorer vulnerability allows a remote user to take control of your computer. This affects most recent versions of IE, including 9, 10 and 11. Most worrisome is that an exploit leveraging the vulnerability has been detected being used. Microsoft knows about the problem and has been working on a fix, but until then, the laboratory's cybersecurity team recommends the following mitigations. One, use another browser whenever possible. Firefox, Chrome and Safari are not susceptible to this exploit and are safe to use. Two, only visit trusted, mainstream websites and avoid sites that you have never visited in the past.
Please note that the two solutions provided above are always good security practices, but at this time, using these techniques is even more critical. Once Microsoft has issued a patch resolving this issue and the Jefferson Lab IT Division has had time to test and release it, a notification will be issued noting the fact. If you have questions or concerns about this or any other computer issue, contact the IT Division Helpdesk, helpdesk@jlab.org or x7155.