Microsoft revealed that a Russia-linked hacking group, Nobelium, accessed emails of some senior leadership, including CEO Satya Nadella‘s close circle. The company announced the same in regulatory filing. This is not the first time that Microsoft is facing state-sponsored attacks, especially during the ongoing Ukraine war.
Why Microsoft disclosure says
New US cybersecurity reporting rules led to Microsoft’s transparency, even though they believe the attack had minimal impact. A Microsoft spokesperson said that while the company does not believe the attack had a material effect, it still wanted to honor the spirit of the rules. Microsoft said it has not found signs that Nobelium had accessed customer data, production systems or proprietary source code.
What the hackers were after
Nobelium accessed a test account, then a “very small percentage” of corporate emails, including legal, cybersecurity, and leadership. No customer data or source code was compromised. In late November, the group accessed “a legacy non-production test tenant account,” Microsoft’s Security Response Center wrote in the blog post. After gaining access, the group “then used the account’s permissions to access a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, including members of our senior leadership team and employees in our cybersecurity, legal, and other functions, and exfiltrated some emails and attached documents,” the corporate unit wrote.
Who is Nobelium hacker group
A sophisticated group linked to Russia’s foreign intelligence, responsible for major breaches like the SolarWinds attack and the DNC hack. Microsoft considers them a serious threat.
Past security vulnerabilities
Last year, China-linked hackers exploited a Microsoft software flaw to access US government email accounts. Senator Wyden criticized Microsoft’s security practices then.
Microsoft taking FBI help
Microsoft continues investigating, working with law enforcement and regulators. The FBI is also involved.
Why Microsoft disclosure says
New US cybersecurity reporting rules led to Microsoft’s transparency, even though they believe the attack had minimal impact. A Microsoft spokesperson said that while the company does not believe the attack had a material effect, it still wanted to honor the spirit of the rules. Microsoft said it has not found signs that Nobelium had accessed customer data, production systems or proprietary source code.
What the hackers were after
Nobelium accessed a test account, then a “very small percentage” of corporate emails, including legal, cybersecurity, and leadership. No customer data or source code was compromised. In late November, the group accessed “a legacy non-production test tenant account,” Microsoft’s Security Response Center wrote in the blog post. After gaining access, the group “then used the account’s permissions to access a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, including members of our senior leadership team and employees in our cybersecurity, legal, and other functions, and exfiltrated some emails and attached documents,” the corporate unit wrote.
Who is Nobelium hacker group
A sophisticated group linked to Russia’s foreign intelligence, responsible for major breaches like the SolarWinds attack and the DNC hack. Microsoft considers them a serious threat.
Past security vulnerabilities
Last year, China-linked hackers exploited a Microsoft software flaw to access US government email accounts. Senator Wyden criticized Microsoft’s security practices then.
Microsoft taking FBI help
Microsoft continues investigating, working with law enforcement and regulators. The FBI is also involved.
Denial of responsibility! Swift Telecast is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – swifttelecast.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.