Internet Explorer security flaw could have affected Gmail users

A new report suggests that internet giant Google may have been affected by a security flaw exploited in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

Last week Google launched a new alert system which warns users of potential state sponsored attacks on their accounts, while shortly afterwards Microsoft said that there was a risk that a specially crafted webpage "could allow remote code execution" if accessed using IE.

Google's warning message, which flagged up along the top panel of Gmail, read: "Warning: we believe state sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer".

ZDNet reports that this flaw is likely to be what was behind Google's warnings but a spokesman for the company has refused to comment on the issue.

However, Yunsun Wee, director of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, said in a statement that the firm "released a Fix It in Security Advisory 2719615 as a safe, easily applied workaround to help protect customers from attackers attempting to exploit the MSXML issue through Internet Explorer.

"The vulnerability does not reside in IE but because the browser may be used as an attack vector, Microsoft encourages customers to apply the workaround to their browsers until we release a security update."

The vulnerability is likely to have been distributed through a phishing attack, Microsoft security advisory stated.

The attacker would not be able to make web users visit the bad website but would instead have needed to convince users to visit, typically by sending out bogus emails or instant messenger messages using Gmail.

In 2011, Google discovered that several of its Gmail user names and passwords belonging to government officials, journalists and activists had been accessed.

Stories of state-sponsored cyber attacks are particularly prevalent at present, with the Flame virus, which has affected a number of users in the Middle East, being linked to authorities in the US.

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