Credit: Suwaree Tangbovornpichet / Getty Images Despite the efforts of Microsoft and independent security researchers at hunting down Internet Explorer security flaws, a previously unknown IE bug has appeared in the wild and is being used actively to hijack Windows systems, researchers said on Monday.The flaw is in IE’s vector markup language (VML), according to security firm Sunbelt Software, which has spotted an exploit popping up on several Russian-hosted porn websites.“Our security research team has observed a new zero day exploit being used to infect systems,” said Eric Sites, Sunbelt’s vice president of R&D, on a company blog.The vulnerability affects Windows and IE 6 with all patches applied, Sites said. “The exploit uses a bug in VML in Internet Explorer to overflow a buffer and inject shellcode,” he wrote. “It is currently on and off again at a number of sites.”The exploit in circulation installs spyware and attempts to hijack systems to be used in botnets, according to researchers. Sites said research is ongoing, and that Microsoft had been informed of the issue. Users can mitigate the problem by turning off JavaScript, according to Sites.-Matthew Broersma, Techworld.com (London) Related content BrandPost Why CISOs Are Looking to Lateral Security to Mitigate Ransomware How to fight ransomeware attacks with lateral security By VMware Mar 27, 2023 2 mins VMware Cloud Security Feature State of the CIO, 2023: Building business strategy Despite a focus on core modernization and transformation work, 2023 State of the CIO respondents say CIOs are playing a strategic leadership role with impact that transcends IT. By Beth Stackpole Mar 27, 2023 11 mins CIO Business IT Alignment Digital Transformation Analysis Why data leaders struggle to produce strategic results A recent Gartner survey of data and analytics leaders found that fewer than half think their teams are effective at providing value to their organizations. Here’s how to change that equation. By Thor Olavsrud Mar 27, 2023 8 mins Chief Data Officer Data Management IT Leadership BrandPost How Infosys and Tennis Australia are harnessing technology for good By Veronica Lew Mar 26, 2023 6 mins Infosys Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe