11 November 2009 | Author: L. Sutherland Head of Media Content

Bing faces security blunder

A supposed security glitch that could leave Bing out of pocket is causing some blushes at Microsoft.

The uncovering of a loophole that could allow scammers to steal money from the Bing search engine is sure to be a thorn in Microsoft's side. However, reports that the software giant is planning to threaten the man who discovered it with legal action is hardly going to help it save face.

According to The Guardian, the glitch is linked to Bing's much-publicised Cashback system and could see users and retailers being put at risk of fraudulent transactions.

The fatal flaw was found by US entrepreneur Samir Meghani, the co-founder of price comparison website Bountii. Speaking on his blog, Mr Meghani said: "I've never bought anything using Bing Cashback, but the balance of my account is $2,080.06.

"I'm not going to explain exactly how to generate the fake requests so that they actually post, but it's not complicated."

He also suggested that the flaw could be manipulated to stop legitimate users from accessing their savings. He revealed this in a post which has now been removed in compliance with Microsoft's wishes. It appears that the embarrassed multinational corporation has claimed that, by publishing the loophole, Mr Meghani was encouraging people to exploit it for their own ends.

Mr Meghani said: "I am surprised they would go through this much trouble to make me take down information that is obvious to anyone reading their documentation."

With Bing already struggling to boost its popularity in the UK and delaying its advertising campaign for the British Isles, this is sure to be setback that the search engine could do without.

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