Russian State-Sponsored Hackers Breach Microsoft's Corporate Systems

Senior Executives' Emails Accessed in Attack; Company Responds with Enhanced Security Measures

Microsoft disclosed that a Russian state-sponsored hacking group, known as Midnight Blizzard or Nobelium, accessed its corporate systems and stole emails from senior executives and employees in its cybersecurity and legal departments.
The hackers used a 'password spray attack' to compromise a legacy non-production test tenant account and gain a foothold, then used the account’s permissions to access a small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts.
Microsoft's investigation found that the hackers appeared to be targeting email accounts for information related to Midnight Blizzard itself, and that it succeeded in taking some emails and attached documents.
The company said the attack was not due to a vulnerability in its products or services, but it did highlight the continuous risk organizations face from 'well-resourced nation-state threat actors' like Nobelium.
Microsoft is notifying employees whose emails were accessed and will notify customers if any action is required on their end.