Germany: ‘Critical’ cybersecurity flaw already exploited

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has activated its national IT crisis center in response to an “extremely critical” flaw in a widely used software tool that the government says has already been exploited internationally. A spokesman for Germany’s Interior Ministry said the country’s federal IT safety agency is urging users to patch their systems as quickly as possible to fend off possible attacks using a bug in the so-called Log4J tool. German authorities have recorded efforts to exploit the bug around the world, including successful attempts, the spokesman said. The flaw is considered so serious because the affected software is widely used in a wide range of devices that use Java software.