In a moment that takes me back to superhero “crossover” comics when I was a kid, it looks like Red October, the five year long hack that’s infected government computers in the US, most of the EU countries, Russia, India, and dozens more, relied on a little program called Java to gain access to all these agencies.

This is a good example of why we recommend disabling Java until you absolutely need it, and then disabling it again once you’re finished with it. The recent Java remote execution exploit is not the first, nor is it likely to be the last, and until there is a dramatic overhaul of the service it should always be considered dangerous.

Although we believe Java to be secure for now, diligence is always required. These exploits often surface after they have already used for weeks, months, and in this case 5 years. This highlights the need to practice Safe Surfing every day with your XVU Drive so that you’re not another victim.