The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has revealed that Russian state-sponsored hackers leveraged their access to Microsoft's email platform to seize communications between officials and the technology behemoth, as indicated in an emergency directive issued by the U.S. watchdog on Thursday.
According to the directive dated April 2, the agency cautioned that hackers were exploiting authentication credentials obtained from emails to attempt unauthorized access to Microsoft's clientele systems, including those of an undisclosed number of government entities.
The alert regarding government entities being targeted via pilfered Microsoft emails comes subsequent to the company's declaration in March that it was still grappling with the infiltrators, dubbed "Midnight Blizzard."
This revelation, which sparked concerns throughout the cybersecurity sphere, was succeeded just last week by a report from the U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board, attributing a separate breach to China and deeming it preventable. The report criticized the company for cybersecurity oversights and a deliberate lack of transparency.
CISA refrained from identifying the agencies potentially impacted. In an email statement, Microsoft mentioned that it was "collaborating with our clients to assist them in investigating and mitigating the issue. This includes collaborating with CISA on an emergency directive to furnish guidance to government agencies."
The Russian Embassy in Washington, which has previously refuted involvement in hacking endeavors, did not promptly respond to a request for comment.
CISA cautioned that the hackers might have also targeted non-governmental entities.
"Other organizations might have also suffered from the extraction of Microsoft corporate emails," CISA remarked, urging customers to reach out to Microsoft for further elucidation.
