A Vancouver Island tech company is claiming a world first in the battle against Log4jShell cyberattacks.

On Dec. 9, a previously unforeseen avenue for online troublemakers to create digital havoc was discovered in the Log4j software used in devices ranging from network servers to cell phones.

Lantzville-based cybersecurity firm aDolus Technology Inc. has already started scanning its clientsB次元官网网址� systems for vulnerabilities.

Log4j is software, which essentially records and builds libraries of interactions to and from computers within networks, has been in use for 20 years. The Log4j vulnerability is called Log4jShell.

B次元官网网址淟og4j is a really commonly used piece of open source software,B次元官网网址� said Eric Byres, chief technical officer of aDolus Technology Inc., which specializes in industrial systems software security.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a logging system that you can use for whatever you want and so, people use it for everything from soup to nuts B次元官网网址� Your computerB次元官网网址檚 doing it all the time. ItB次元官网网址檚 just filling itself up with logs and this is a way to exchange those logs, which is critical for big companies.B次元官网网址�

In larger companies, the software is used to share events, such as notifications of a user logging into a network or an attempt to inject spam or malicious software into a computer within a network.

B次元官网网址淚f your computer wants to send logs to head office about the fact itB次元官网网址檚 under attack, head office would use something like Log4j in order to receive those incoming messages,B次元官网网址� Byres said.

Researchers discovered that by sending deliberately malformed logs to a log collector, they could take over the log collector, which is what Log4jShell does. It allows hackers to take over networks by sending malicious code through a infected application.

B次元官网网址淟og4j is so widely used B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 easy for the bad guys to take advantage of it,B次元官网网址� Byres said. B次元官网网址淚f they can get a message to that server, possibly through a poorly secured laptop B次元官网网址� from there they can go straight to command headquarters and take over.B次元官网网址�

The vulnerability could impact industrial control systems, air carrier booking systems, medical systems, hospitals and beyond. Byres said some attacks may have already happened and malicious software may have been injected and will sit inactive until conditions arise where it can cause the most damage.

B次元官网网址淭his is where the nastiness is going to come in. Nobody is going to know that they should be doing anything because they donB次元官网网址檛 know itB次元官网网址檚 buried deep into their packages,B次元官网网址� Byres said.

Hidden vulnerabilities through Log4jShell can be uncovered by scanning lists of components that make up software applications. ADolus is currently scanning its industrial clientsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址榮oftware bills of materialsB次元官网网址� to find Log4j in their systems and informing them of the level of vulnerability to hacker exploitation.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e the very first company in the world to release what are called [vulnerability exploitability exchange] documents B次元官网网址� in the whole world, periodB次元官网网址�B次元官网网址� Byres said. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e a big oil company you can look through the VEX document and you can search it for the versions of the software youB次元官网网址檙e using and you can see itB次元官网网址檚 exploitable B次元官网网址� or itB次元官网网址檚 not exploitable and say, forget it. LetB次元官网网址檚 go work on something else more important.B次元官网网址�

To learn more about the Log4Shell vulnerability, visit the aDolus website at .

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