Microsoft revealed on Friday that its corporate email servers were breached by the hacking group Midnight Blizzard, which is believed to be funded by the Russian-sponsored online crime group Nobelium. The cyberattack, which occurred on January 12th, targeted customer data and information belonging to Seattle-based staff. Evidence suggests that the data theft was likely planned in November 2023 when Microsoft was subjected to a password spray attack. The attackers seemingly leveraged credentials obtained in last year’s breach to access and steal email content.
In a separate incident, Tietoevry Cloud Hosting, based in Sweden, fell victim to a ransomware attack by the AKIRA malware group. This led to significant disruptions in data center operations, affecting companies such as Moelven, Rusta, Grangnarden, Primula, and Filmstaden. Several municipalities and universities also confirmed disruptions in their services due to the attack.
The third incident involves TeamViewer, a widely used remote access service, targeted by the LockBit Ransomware group 3.0. While the initial attempts did not disrupt services, one attempt allowed criminals to gain access to a network from an endpoint device. Cybersecurity firm Huntress detected and flagged this ongoing campaign related to the spread of crypto-mining software.
India’s CERT team issued a red alert against potential cyber attacks on government websites, orchestrated by cybercriminals funded by a neighboring nation. The attacks were planned as a diversion during the celebration of Lord Ram’s consecration in Ayodhya. The Information and Technology Ministry of India, however, assures proactive measures to counter these attacks.
The Veeam Data Protection Trends report predicts a 24% surge in cybersecurity spending in 2024. The increase is attributed to the widespread rise in ransomware attacks, which pose a severe threat to businesses.
According to research by Checkpoint Software, cyber attacks on the American populace and companies have reached an all-time high in the past two years. The education and research sectors have been particularly affected due to the sensitive information they hold. Additionally, geopolitical events like the Israeli war with Hamas and Russia’s conflict with Ukraine have spurred the emergence of criminal groups seeking monetary gains in the cybercrime domain.
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