According to Microsoft, hackers with connections to the Russian government have gained access to some of the company’s high-ranking managers’ emails. The attack began in November and was discovered a week ago, Microsoft said on Friday. The hackers also downloaded some documents from email attachments. The company did not provide any information about who among the company’s management was affected, but said that emails from employees in the areas of cybersecurity and law had also fallen prey to the attackers. It remained unclear how many employee accounts were affected in total. Microsoft emphasized that it was a “very small percentage” share. As of June 30, the group had around 221,000 employees.
According to Microsoft, the hackers got into the email system after cracking the password of an internal test account. The attack was not a result of vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s products or services, it said. There is also no evidence that the attackers had access to customer areas, software source codes or systems with artificial intelligence (AI).
In addition to the hacker attack, Microsoft also has problems with the US antitrust authorities
According to Microsoft, a Russian group known as “Midnight Blizzard” and “Nobelium” is behind the hack. The intruders initially looked for information about the group in the emails, it said, citing initial investigation results. This would allow the hackers to better understand how much Microsoft knew about them and their approach. Microsoft did not provide any information about how the attackers’ focus changed afterwards.
Microsoft software is used in many companies and government agencies around the world. Depending on the relevance of the information captured, the hack could have far-reaching consequences. A few years ago, maintenance software from Solarwinds was infected in one of the most serious cyber attacks by suspected Russian hackers. The attackers then used them to gain access to the systems of dozens of companies and authorities.
And the hacker attack is not Microsoft’s only problem: According to a media report, the US company’s billion-dollar investment in the ChatGPT developer OpenAI is causing discussions between the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Both antitrust authorities are discussing who is responsible for reviewing the matter, the magazine reported Politico on Friday. The FTC said it is working seamlessly with the department to protect U.S. consumers. The ministry declined to comment.
Microsoft promised OpenAI investments of more than ten billion dollars last year. The US software company had explained that it would not become a shareholder but would only be entitled to a share of the profits. The seat on the board of directors that Microsoft is entitled to has no voting rights. Nevertheless, the EU Commission and the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are already taking a close look at the cooperation under antitrust law.