Russian-backed hackers infiltrate Microsoft, expose vulnerabilities

In a blog post, Microsoft delved into the details of the January cyberattack attributed to Russia. The company has found no evidence that the attackers accessed customer data during their investigation thus far. Despite this, the hackers clearly penetrated Microsoft's internal networks, accessing emails and pilfering some source code repositories.

Microsoft has been proactively engaging with customers potentially impacted by this security breach, offering guidance on mitigation steps. The specifics of which source code was stolen remain undisclosed, yet it's conceivable that each compromised piece of software could amplify the attackers' capabilities. Recent findings suggest the Midnight Blizzard group is exploiting the stolen data.

Furthermore, Microsoft highlighted an alarming uptick in cybersecurity threats, noting that Midnight Blizzard's attempts at breaching systems surged in February—conducting ten times more incursions than in January through so-called "password spraying" techniques, which utilize credentials harvested from previous breaches.