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Apple has released security updates this week for seven products —macOS, iOS, watchOS, iTunes for Windows, tvOS, iCloud for Windows, and Safari. Out of all the vulnerabilities patched this week, two stands out, mainly because they affect the kernels of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS alike. Two vulnerabilities stand out. The vulnerabilities are CVE-2018-4241 and CVE-2018-4243, both discovered by Google security engineer Ian Beer. Neither Beer nor Apple has released expansive details about these two bugs. Both issues are buffer overflows in the kernel code that can lead to an attacker executing malicious code within the context of the kernel, giving him full access to a device. But these are all the details currently available. In fact, Apple is currently still hiding the changelog of the iOS, watchOS, and tvOS security patches in an attempt to allow users to update without giving attackers a clue to what's hiding inside. Patches with links are posted on OUR FORUM.

An Internet Explorer zero-day vulnerability that came to light last month has now been incorporated in the RIG exploit kit, a web-based toolkit that malware authors use to infect a site's visitors with malware. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2018-8174. This vulnerability affects VBScript, the Visual Basic scripting engine that's included with Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office. On April 20, Bleeping Computer learned from a Chinese security researcher that a cyber-espionage group was using this vulnerability to infect users via Internet Explorer, as part of a series of attacks conducted by what later proved to be a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group. Security researchers from Qihoo 360, who first spotted these attacks, reported the vulnerability to Microsoft, and the company patched the bug in the May 2018 Patch Tuesday security updates, released on May 8. More details can be found on OUR FORUM.
 

The prognosticators at analyst company the IDC do not currently see a bright future for traditional PCs and notebooks. In their Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, they predict the PC market will decline 1.8% over the next 4 years, from 408.3 million units in 2018 to 386.2 million devices in 2022. The one bright spark, however, is the detachable market, which they expect to grow 9.8% over the same period, from 23.9 million devices in 2018 to 35.0 million devices in 2022. “Overall the challenges for traditional PCs and tablets remain the same as in past years,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. “However, we continue to see pockets of opportunity and growth when you peel back the onion. With notebook PC's, it’s clear that marketing and development resources are being poured into premium/gaming, convertibles, and thin and light devices. All OEMs, some of which are new to space, seem to be laser-focused on these areas. Detachable tablets are another area that has seen growth, however, it currently feels like the trends around notebook growth opportunities have overshadowed detachable developments.” Learn more at OUR FORUM.

  

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