Search This Blog
Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

Labels

Load More
Trendy Right Now

Popular Posts

Showing posts with label Midnight Blizzard. Show all posts
Supply Chain
Community breach Cyber Crime Emails Hacking Microsoft Midnight Blizzard Supply Chain

Russian Hackers Breach Microsoft's Security: What You Need to Know

 


In a recent set of events, reports have surfaced of a significant cyberattack on Microsoft, allegedly orchestrated by Russian hackers. This breach, attributed to a group known as Midnight Blizzard or Nobelium, has raised serious concerns among cybersecurity experts and the public alike.

The attack targeted Microsoft's source code repositories, exposing sensitive company information and communications with partners across various sectors, including government, defence, and business. While Microsoft assures that no customer-facing systems were compromised, the breach has far-reaching implications for national and international security.

Cybersecurity experts warn of the potential for increased zero-day vulnerabilities, which are undiscovered security flaws that can be exploited by hackers. Access to source code provides attackers with a "master key" to infiltrate systems, posing a significant threat to organisations and users worldwide.

The severity of the breach has prompted strong reactions from industry professionals. Ariel Parnes, COO of Mitiga, describes the incident as "severe," emphasising the critical importance of source code security in the digital age. Shawn Waldman, CEO of Secure Cyber Defense, condemns the attack as a "worst-case scenario," highlighting the broader implications for national security.

The compromised data includes emails of senior leadership, confidential communications with partners, and cryptographic secrets such as passwords and authentication keys. Larry Whiteside Jr., a cybersecurity expert, warns of potential compliance complications for Microsoft users and partners, as regulators scrutinise the breach's impact on data protection laws.

As the fallout from the breach unfolds, there are growing concerns about the emergence of zero-day vulnerabilities and the need for proactive defence measures. Experts stress the importance of threat hunting and incident response planning to mitigate the risks posed by sophisticated cyber threats.

The incident underscores the ongoing battle in the global cyber warfare landscape, where even tech giants like Microsoft are not immune to attacks. With cybercriminals increasingly targeting supply chains, the need for enhanced security measures has never been more urgent.

The breach of Microsoft's systems serves as a wake-up call for individuals and organisations alike. It highlights the ever-present threat of cyberattacks in an increasingly interconnected world and underscores the need for enhanced cybersecurity measures. By staying vigilant and proactive, establishments can mitigate the risks posed by cyber threats and protect their digital assets from exploitation.

As the field of cybersecurity keeps changing and developing, stakeholders must work together to address the underlying threats and ensure the protection of critical infrastructure and data. This recent breach of Microsoft's security by Russian hackers has raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of digital systems and the need for robust cybersecurity measures.


Read more »
Russian Hackers
APT-29 Corporate emails Data Breach Microsoft Microsoft Emails Microsoft Security Response Midnight Blizzard Nobelium APT Password spray attacks Russian Hackers

Midnight Blizzard: Russian Threat Actors Behind Microsoft Corporate Emails’ Breach


On Friday, Microsoft informed that some of its corporate accounts suffered a breach in which some of its data was compromised. The attack was conducted by a Russian state-sponsored hackers group named “Midnight Blizzard.”

The attack was first detected on January 12th, and Microsoft in its initial investigation attributed the attack to the Russian threat actors, known famously as Nobelium or APT-29.

Microsoft informs that the threat actors launched the attacks in November 2023, in which they carried out a password spray attack in order to access a legacy non-production test tenant account. 

Password Spray Attack

A password spray attack is a type of brute force attack where threat actors collect a list of potential login names and then attempt to log in to all of them using a particular password. If that password fails, they repeat this process with other passwords until they run out or successfully breach the account.

Since the hackers were able to access accounts using a brute force attack, it is clear that it lacked two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication.

Microsoft claims that after taking control of the "test" account, the Nobelium hackers utilized it to access a "small percentage" of the company's email accounts for more than a month.

It is still unclear why a non-production test account would have the ability to access other accounts in Microsoft's corporate email system unless the threat actors utilized this test account to infiltrate networks and move to accounts with higher permissions.

Apparently, these breached accounts include members of Microsoft’s leadership team and employees assigned to the cybersecurity and legal departments, targeted by hackers to steal emails and attachments. 

"The investigation indicates they were initially targeting email accounts for information related to Midnight Blizzard itself," the Microsoft Security Response Center shared in a report on the incident.

"We are in the process of notifying employees whose email was accessed."

Microsoft reaffirms that the incident was caused by the brute force password attack, rather than a vulnerability in their product services.

However, it seems that Microsoft’s poorly managed security configuration played a major role in the success of the breach.

While this investigation is underway, Microsoft stated that they will release more information when it is appropriate.  

Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)