Oracle Corp (ORCL) has reportedly released a patch to fix a potential bug in the Java software for computers. Oracle released the software patch, “Update 11”, to plug the loophole in the Java system and upgrade the security level from medium to high.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had earlier warned users to refrain from using Java software in their computers unless absolutely necessary. The government body claimed that the applications running on Java’s latest version, Java 7, were vulnerable to hacking and could lead to cyber-crimes. However, users cannot do without Java, as disabling it would lead to blockage of real-time data display on websites.
Security experts believe that the Java software had always had its vulnerabilities and thus the new threat is not uncommon. According to Kaspersky Lab, Java was responsible for almost 50% of all the cyber attacks last year, while Adobe's (ADBE) Acrobat Reader was responsible for 28% of the cyber attacks.
Nonetheless, Java remains the most widely-used programming language for any type of operating system, whether Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows, Apple's (AAPL) OS X or Linux. Oracle inherited Java through the acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010.
Moreover, Oracle enjoys a dominant position in the enterprise software and database management system market. Higher spending on enterprise IT will also positively impact the company. According to market research firm Gartner, worldwide enterprise IT spending is expected to increase 2.5% year over year to $2.68 trillion in 2013.
However, we believe that competition remains stiff for Oracle, limiting its growth prospects going forward. Oracle’s hardware business continues to decline, putting the onus on the software segment to perform consistently in order to drive growth.
Currently, Oracle has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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