Google has closed a security hole in a recently released Chinese-input software tool that lies at the heart of a dispute with Chinese Internet company Sohu.com.“We had found this problem and have solved it during the product upgrade on Friday,” wrote Google spokeswoman Cui Jin in an e-mail response to questions.On Friday, Chinese security company Rising said Google’s Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME) presented a serious security threat to Microsoft Windows Vista users. The company warned users not to download and install the software, which lets users type Chinese characters by entering their Pinyin romanization equivalents, saying hackers could exploit a flaw to take control of a user’s computer.Rising said Microsoft also bears responsibility for the vulnerability, noting that software released by other companies could re-create the same vulnerability. The Rising announcement came amid questions over the origins of a dictionary used with Google’s Pinyin IME. Early versions of the software bore a striking resemblance to Chinese Internet company Sohu.com’s Sogou Pinyin IME, which draws on a database of popular search queries from the company’s Sogou search engine to suggest characters that match the Pinyin users type.The similarities between the two dictionaries led Sohu to send a letter to Google on Friday, giving the company until today to stop downloads of the software, issue an apology and discuss compensation. A senior Sohu executive said the company had not made its dictionary available for use or licensed other companies to use it. Cui did not respond to questions about Sohu’s letter.However, Google acknowledged on Sunday that a “non-Google database” had been used to develop its IME software, but stopped short of saying where the database came from. The company also released a further update of the software on Sunday that relies on a new dictionary.“The new dictionary is now based on tens of thousands of entries Google’s enormous search database has accumulated over the years,” Cui wrote. -Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service Related content news Okta confirms recent hack affected all customers within the affected system Contrary to its earlier analysis, Okta has confirmed that all of its customer support system users are affected by the recent security incident. By Shweta Sharma Nov 30, 2023 3 mins Data Breach Cyberattacks Cybercrime news Top cybersecurity product news of the week New product and service announcements from Wiz, Palo Alto Networks, Sophos, SecureAuth, Kasada, Lacework, Cycode, and more. By CSO staff Nov 30, 2023 17 mins Generative AI Security feature How to maintain a solid cybersecurity posture during a natural disaster Fire, flood, eathquake, hurricane, tornado: natural disasters are becoming more prevalent and they’re a threat to cybersecurity that isn’t always on a company’s radar. Here are some ways to prepare for the worst. By James Careless Nov 30, 2023 8 mins Security Operations Center Data and Information Security Security Practices news analysis Attackers could abuse Google's SSO integration with Windows for lateral movement Compromised Windows systems can enable attackers to gain access to Google Workspace and Google Cloud by stealing access tokens and plaintext passwords. By Lucian Constantin Nov 30, 2023 8 mins Multi-factor Authentication Single Sign-on Remote Access Security 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