U.S. Govt: Hackers Using Java

Get rid of your Java—the software, that is. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is urging computer users to disable Oracle’s Java software in their Web browser in order to avoid being hacked. In the past few months, researchers have discovered a weakness in Java security that could allow for installation of malware and increase the chance of identity theft by hackers. The DHS Computer Emergency Readiness Team hasn’t yet found a way to debug the system, but warned on its website that the software’s “vulnerability is being attacked in the wild” and being made into publicly available exploit kits.