Windows 8 Won't Be a Hacker's Paradise -- Redmondmag.com

Windows 8 Won't Be a Hacker's Paradise

Attackers will have to learn a new trick if they want to hack Windows 8.

By Chris Paoli
08/01/2012

If you make your money in the Windows hacking business, you may want to take up another line of work.

According to security experts at last week's Black Hat security conference, Windows 8 will be a tough nut to crack, especially with the tools that have found success with Windows 7.

And the top tool for hackers has been using specially crafted exploits to attack the Windows kernel. The problem is with Windows 8's new look , the kernel of the past few versions will not be tagging along.

Also, Windows 8 will randomize whenever memory is dynamically allotted. This means that hackers may have a hard time locating and writing attack codes on specific memory chunks.

While this sounds good for those planning on loading up Windows 8 the second it becomes available on October 26, don't expect Microsoft's newest OS to be invulnerable.

"The Windows 8 kernel is not fundamentally changing any of the algorithms" used in Windows 7, said security professionals Chris Valasek. "It's more of a hardened version of Windows 7 … [in that] you don't have any significant structur[al] changes, but you have a lot more checks."

That means that like all new software, hackers may have to fiddle with the OS for a few months before the expected number of attacks start rolling in.

How have you viewed the changes in security for Windows 8? Let me know at [email protected].

About the Author

Chris Paoli (@ChrisPaoli5) is the associate editor for Converge360.

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