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Eugene

(62,659 posts)
Fri Dec 18, 2020, 03:13 AM Dec 2020

Microsoft says it found malicious software in its systems

Source: Reuters

INTERNET NEWS
DECEMBER 17, 2020 1:30 PM UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

Microsoft says it found malicious software in its systems

By Joseph Menn
5 MIN READ

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it found malicious software in its systems related to a massive hacking campaign disclosed by U.S. officials this week, adding a top technology target to a growing list of attacked government agencies.

The Redmond, Washington company is a user of Orion, the widely deployed networking management software from SolarWinds Corp which was used in the suspected Russian attacks on vital U.S. agencies and others.

Microsoft also had its own products leveraged to attack victims, said people familiar with the matter. The U.S. National Security Agency issued a rare “cybersecurity advisory” Thursday detailing how certain Microsoft Azure cloud services may have been compromised by hackers and directing users to lock down their systems.

“Like other SolarWinds customers, we have been actively looking for indicators of this actor and can confirm that we detected malicious Solar Winds binaries in our environment, which we isolated and removed,” a Microsoft spokesperson said, adding that the company had found “no indications that our systems were used to attack others.”

One of the people familiar with the hacking spree said the hackers made use of Microsoft cloud offerings while avoiding Microsoft’s corporate infrastructure.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-breach/microsoft-says-it-found-malicious-software-in-its-systems-idUSKBN28R2ZJ
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Microsoft says it found malicious software in its systems (Original Post) Eugene Dec 2020 OP
Not Microsoft related but I wonder if when gmail and google docs went dark mahina Dec 2020 #1
This may also explain why Microsoft went after the hackers so swiftly Best_man23 Dec 2020 #2

mahina

(18,942 posts)
1. Not Microsoft related but I wonder if when gmail and google docs went dark
Fri Dec 18, 2020, 05:05 AM
Dec 2020

A few days back it was because of this hack.

Best_man23

(5,124 posts)
2. This may also explain why Microsoft went after the hackers so swiftly
Fri Dec 18, 2020, 07:55 AM
Dec 2020

"Through four steps over four days, Microsoft flexed the muscle of its legal team and its control of the Windows operating system to nearly obliterate the actions of some of the most sophisticated offensive hackers out there. In this case, the adversary is believed to be APT29, aka Cozy Bear, the group many believe to be associated with Russian intelligence, and best known for carrying out the 2016 hack against the Democratic National Committee (DNC)."

Not sure what avenues Microsoft has against a nation state, but you can bet Microsoft's leadership will be making calls to Capitol Hill and the Biden administration soon.

https://www.geekwire.com/2020/microsoft-unleashes-death-star-solarwinds-hackers-extraordinary-response-breach/

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