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La Defense financial district in Paris: attack from China?
Photo: CHRISTIAN HARTMANN / REUTERS
After a massive hacker attack, in which attackers took advantage of a vulnerability in the Exchange mail software, the first prominent victim in Europe is now being made public: the European banking supervisory authority (EBA).
The Paris authority announced that the EBA had become “the target of the cyber attack against Microsoft Exchange Server”.
The extent of the attack is still unclear: it is possible that the hackers have gained access to confidential data.
A "full investigation" has been initiated.
"As a precautionary measure, the EBA has decided to take its entire mail system offline."
Experts fear that tens of thousands of companies and organizations could be affected by the attack.
Hackers used a vulnerability in the Exchange mail software to gain access to confidential data.
The software is used by government agencies and businesses around the world.
The attackers were able to gain control of the mail server through the security hole - and thus access confidential information from emails.
The White House warned of an "active threat" over the weekend: "Everyone who uses these servers - governments, the private sector, educational institutions - must act now and apply the patch," said Jen Psaki, White House spokeswoman.
Microsoft suspects that a hacker group supported by the Chinese state called Hafnium is behind the attacks.
The Chinese government denies any involvement in the attacks.
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