BeQuiet Jubiläum Banner 970x90
Breaking News

AORUS Gen5 10000 SSD Hit the Market with 10GB/s and Up! Nikon releases the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 and NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S Nikon releases a new black version of the Z fc APS-C size mirrorless camera Launch schedule of SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG DN | Art Razer unveils the Viper Mini Signature Edition – a magnesium alloy gaming masterpiece

logo

  • Share Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
  • Home
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Essays
  • Forum
  • Legacy
  • About
    • Submit News

    • Contact Us
    • Privacy

    • Promotion
    • Advertise

    • RSS Feed
    • Site Map

Search form

Microsoft Says Iranian Hackers Targeted U.S. Presidential Campaign

Microsoft Says Iranian Hackers Targeted U.S. Presidential Campaign

Enterprise & IT Oct 4,2019 0

Microsoft recently saw significant cyber activity by a threat group the company calls Phosphorous, which is beliebed to originate from Iran and is linked to the Iranian government.

In a 30-day period between August and September, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) observed Phosphorous making more than 2,700 attempts to identify consumer email accounts belonging to specific Microsoft customers and then attack 241 of those accounts. The targeted accounts were associated with a U.S. presidential campaign, current and former U.S. government officials, journalists covering global politics and prominent Iranians living outside Iran. Microsoft said that four accounts were compromised as a result of these attempts; these four accounts were not associated with the U.S. presidential campaign or current and former U.S. government officials. Microsoft has notified the customers related to these investigations and threats and has worked as requested with those whose accounts were compromised to secure them.

Phosphorous, also known as APT 35, Charming Kitten, and Ajax Security Team, used information gathered from researching their targets or other means to game password reset or account recovery features and attempt to take over some targeted accounts. For example, they would seek access to a secondary email account linked to a user’s Microsoft account, then attempt to gain access to a user’s Microsoft account through verification sent to the secondary account. In some instances, they gathered phone numbers belonging to their targets and used them to assist in authenticating password resets.

While the attacks were not technically sophisticated, they attempted to use a significant amount of personal information both to identify the accounts belonging to their intended targets and in a few cases to attempt attacks. "This effort suggests Phosphorous is highly motivated and willing to invest significant time and resources engaging in research and other means of information gathering," said Tom Burt, Corporate Vice President, Customer Security & Trust, Microsoft.

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit has also taken legal and technical steps to combat Phosphorus attacks and continues to take these types of actions.

The company encourages all its customers to enable two-step verification on their Miccrosoft accounts which can be done in Account Security settings. While there are a number of ways to enable this two-step verification, the most secure option is through a password-less solution like Microsoft Authenticator.

People can also periodically check their login history.

Tags: HackingMicrosoft
Previous Post
Disney Bans Netflix Ads As the Battle for Streaming Supremacy Escalates
Next Post
Android Vulnerability Affects Pixel and Galaxy Devices

Related Posts

  • Microsoft and OpenAI extend partnership

  • Do You Use Edge Browser?

  • Samsung and Microsoft Partner to Bring The Xbox App to Samsung Gaming Hub

  • Apple, Google, and Microsoft commit to expanded support for FIDO standard

  • Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across every device

  • Hackers gain access to PS5 Debug Menu and show decrypted PS5 firmware files

  • HP Threat Research Shows Attackers Exploiting Zero‐Day Vulnerability Before Enterprises Can Patch

  • Introducing new Surface products, built for Windows 11

BeQuiet Jubiläum Banner 300x600

 

Latest News

AORUS Gen5 10000 SSD Hit the Market with 10GB/s and Up!
PC components

AORUS Gen5 10000 SSD Hit the Market with 10GB/s and Up!

Nikon releases the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 and NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S
Cameras

Nikon releases the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 and NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S

Nikon releases a new black version of the Z fc APS-C size mirrorless camera
Cameras

Nikon releases a new black version of the Z fc APS-C size mirrorless camera

Launch schedule of SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG DN | Art
Cameras

Launch schedule of SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG DN | Art

Razer unveils the Viper Mini Signature Edition – a magnesium alloy gaming masterpiece
PC components

Razer unveils the Viper Mini Signature Edition – a magnesium alloy gaming masterpiece

Popular Reviews

Withings Thermo Wi-Fi-connected temporal thermometer

Withings Thermo Wi-Fi-connected temporal thermometer

EnGenius ECW230 Access Point

EnGenius ECW230 Access Point

Withings Body Plus Scale

Withings Body Plus Scale

Withings Sleep Analyzer

Withings Sleep Analyzer

EnGenius ECW230S AP

EnGenius ECW230S AP

Noctua NH-D12L CPU Cooler

Noctua NH-D12L CPU Cooler

Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Cooler

Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Cooler

be quiet! Pure Rock 2 FX

be quiet! Pure Rock 2 FX

Main menu

  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Essays
  • Forum
  • Legacy
  • About
    • Submit News

    • Contact Us
    • Privacy

    • Promotion
    • Advertise

    • RSS Feed
    • Site Map
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us
  • Promotional Opportunities @ CdrInfo.com
  • Advertise on out site
  • Submit your News to our site
  • RSS Feed