National Cyber Directorate warns of weakness in Check Point products

There exists a weak point in the technology which allows cyber attacks to be carried out through it.

Are ransomware attacks going to continue to rise? Worrying trends indicate that they may. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Are ransomware attacks going to continue to rise? Worrying trends indicate that they may.
(photo credit: REUTERS)

Israel’s National Cyber Directorate called on Sunday on organizations to urgently implement and install the latest security update for Check Point products following a serious security weakness.

As such, a weakness in the technology that allows cyber attacks to be carried out through it, recently discovered in the remote connection technology (VPN) produced by Check Point, exposes organizations using this product to attacks.

 A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017.  (credit: REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO)
A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (credit: REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO)

Theft of user identification data 

The weakness allows the theft of user identification data and its use to access the equipment. According to information from the directorate, the weakness is already being used in practice worldwide to carry out cyber attacks. The fear is that organizations in Israel that have not implemented the latest security update for the product will also be attacked very soon.

In cooperation with Check Point, the organization issued an urgent warning on the issue. Last week, it made hundreds of proactive inquiries to organizations that own this technology with instructions for implementing the security update.