The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) said Russian government-backed hackers used an access to Microsoft to steal correspondence between officials. The agency warned that hackers were exploiting authentication details shared via email to try to break into the systems of Microsoft customers, including those of an unspecified number of government agencies.
The warning comes after the technology company explained in March that it was facing an attack from a hacker group nicknamed Midnight Blizzard. Last week a report from the US CyberSafety Review Board said a hack, possibly Chinese in origin, was preventable, blaming the company for cybersecurity gaps. The hackers, according to Cisa, may also have targeted non-governmental groups. “Other organizations may also be affected by Microsoft's corporate email exfiltration,” the agency said, encouraging customers to contact Microsoft for further details. Microsoft, in an email, said it was "working with customers to help them" and was collaborating with Cisa "on an emergency directive to provide guidance to government agencies"