Apple has announced they have discontinued support for Apple QuickTime on Microsoft Windows which means they will no longer provide updates to patch vulnerabilities. There are at least two new vulnerabilities impacting QuickTime for which there will be no patches made available. The Department of Homeland Security‘s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and Apple are urging anyone who has QuickTime on a Microsoft Windows platform to remove the application immediately.
In most cases, QuickTime is not an important application and users won’t notice whether they have it or not. However, if there are mission-critical cases in your environment which require the use of QuickTime on Windows, please contact CFAES Information Security Officer Rob Clifford (clifford.158@osu.edu) so we can explore alternatives or compensating controls to protect these systems and the business needs they serve.
Our Information Technology Services team has established a strategy to automatically remove QuickTime from the Windows platform on the Columbus and Wooster Campuses but manual intervention may be required at the distributed Extension and Outlying Agricultural Research Station sites. The removal of QuickTime on Windows is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 after classes and finals are over. In the meantime, IT Services staff will also be reaching out to some of you directly to discuss any concerns and remove QuickTime manually or refer you to Rob Clifford.
QuickTime Installations on Windows Throughout CFAES
Extension – 693
Columbus – 400
Wooster, ATI – 232
Wooster, OARDC – 50
Reference:
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA16-105A
Matt DeVore
Chief Information Officer, CFAES
The Ohio State University
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Information Technology Services
203A Research Services, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691
330-202-3577 Office
devore.38@osu.edu cfaes.osu.edu