Microsoft Hacked

No one is immune from security risks, even Microsoft. In this recent incident, Microsoft lost signing keys that were used to break into government accounts.

On June 16, 2023, Microsoft identified activities with malicious intent targeting “US and European diplomatic, economic, and legislative governing bodies, and individuals connected to Taiwan and Uyghur geopolitical interests.” Microsoft investigated the attacks to identify patterns of the attacker; they appeared to be seeking unauthorized access to employee email accounts.

Microsoft has taken steps to remediate the issue, further secure their systems, and is gathering information regarding the attackers. In this digital age, it is important to be mindful of the possibility of attacks. Even a company like Microsoft was faced with a vulnerability; according to TechCrunch, it is unclear how Microsoft was hacked in the first place. At Inspiration IT, we take cyber threats seriously. We encourage our clients to discuss protective measures with us and to form a plan of protection for their business. EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), for example, is an essential part of a good security stack, particularly if your organization has heavy email use with attachments. Microsoft, in response to the June 16th attacks, encouraged users to utilize EDR as a protection against malicious threats. You can read more about Microsoft’s recommendations here or contact us today for your IT security needs.

Sources:

Storm 0978 attacks reveal financial and espionage motives. Microsoft Threat Intelligence.

Analysis of Storm 0558 techniques for unauthorized email access. Microsoft Threat Intelligence.

Microsoft lost its keys, and the government got hacked. TechCrunch.