The Russian government has never responded to the Microsoft hacking allegations.

Microsoft, Microsoft logo
Microsoft, Microsoft logo (Image: Reuters)

Reuters

Russian hackers who breached Microsoft’s systems and snooped on staff inboxes earlier this year also stole its users’ emails, the tech giant said on Thursday, nearly two weeks after it first disclosed the intrusion. Six months later.

The disclosure underscores the scope of the breach as Microsoft faces increased regulatory scrutiny over the security of its software and systems against foreign threats. An alleged Chinese hacking group that separately breached Microsoft last year stole thousands of U.S. government emails.

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The Russian government has never responded to the Microsoft hacking allegations, but Microsoft has said the hackers targeted cybersecurity researchers who were investigating the actions of a Russian hacking group.

“This week we are issuing notifications to customers with Microsoft corporate email accounts that were exposed to the Midnight Blizzard vulnerability,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement. ” Bloomberg reported the action earlier in the day.

Microsoft said it was sharing the compromised emails with its customers, but did not say how many users were affected, nor how many emails were stolen.

“This is an increase in detail for customers who have already been notified and includes new information,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to sharing information with our customers as our investigation continues.” In January, the world’s largest software vendor said Midnight Blizzard accessed a “very small percentage” of the company’s corporate email accounts. Four months later he said those hackers were still trying to get in, worrying many of his security industry colleagues and customers who questioned why Microsoft’s systems were vulnerable.

Those intrusions and last year’s Chinese hack sparked congressional hearings earlier this month where Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company was working to overhaul its security practices.

(Only the headline and image for this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)



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