Oracle settles FTC charges that it left its customers open to hacking

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp has settled allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that it failed to notify customers about unaddressed hacking dangers when it released security updates for the estimated 850 million U.S. computers with Java SE software, the agency said on Monday.

The FTC alleged that Oracle promised consumers that its updates would make the software "safe and secure." In fact, the agency said, the updates removed some of the problematic software but left behind older versions of Java which were vulnerable to being hacked.

Oracle, which acquired Java in 2010 when it bought Sun Microsystems, Inc, declined comment on the settlement.

 

Under the terms of the settlement, Oracle is required to notify customers on Twitter or Facebook on how to remove the older software and to assist those who are updating their Java software remove older versions.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Alan Crosby)