Microsoft government emails hacked by Russian intelligence group, firm says

Microsoft stated in a Friday regulatory filing {that a} Russian hacking group accessed among the software program maker’s prime executives’ e mail accounts. The corporate stated a bunch known as Nobelium carried out the assault, which it detected final week.

The announcement comes after new U.S. necessities for disclosing cybersecurity incidents went into impact. A Microsoft spokesperson stated that whereas the corporate doesn’t consider the assault had a fabric impression, it nonetheless wished to offer particulars publicly.

In late November, the group accessed “a legacy non-production test tenant account and gain a foothold, and 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,” Microsoft’s Safety Response Middle wrote within the weblog publish.

The corporate’s senior management crew, together with finance chief Amy Hood and president Brad Smith, usually meets with CEO Satya Nadella.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Microsoft and the U.S. authorities contemplate Nobelium to be part of the Russian overseas intelligence service SVR. The hacking group was responsible for probably the most prolific breaches in U.S. historical past, when it breached authorities provider SolarWinds in 2020.

Nobelium, also referred to as APT29 or Cozy Bear, is a complicated hacking group that has tried to breach the programs of U.S. allies and the Division of Protection. Microsoft additionally makes use of the title Midnight Blizzard to determine Nobelium.

It was additionally implicated alongside one other Russian hacking group within the 2016 breach of the Democratic Nationwide Committee’s programs.

That is breaking information. Please examine again for updates.