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| Iranian cyber attack at Think 20 summit |
Microsoft has said that Iranian government-backed hackers are targeting more than 100 celebrities and will likely attend the Think20 summit in Saudi Arabia.
The organization called Phosphorus (APT35) sent out phishing emails pretending to be the organizer of the Munich Security Conference.
The organization is also targeting the Think 20 summit to be held in Saudi Arabia later this month.
The Munich Security Conference is the most important security conference for other heads of state, heads of state and government in the world. It has been held every year for nearly 60 years.
The Think 20 Summit is a visual event that shaped the political vision of the G20 (G20) and guided its critical discussions.
Microsoft said the emails were sent to former government officials, academics and policymakers. Stealing passwords and other sensitive data such as email inboxes.
When asked about the purpose of the operation, the company did not comment on it, but to Director of Customer Security and Trust Tom Burt (Tom Burt): He said: The attack was carried out for the purpose of gathering intelligence for the operation.
"The attack left many victims at risk, including former ambassadors and other high-level political experts who helped shape the country's global agenda and foreign policy," Burt said.
He added: "We have worked with meeting planners and will continue to warn attendees, and we will do what we see publicly so that everyone remains vigilant about using this method in meetings or other events."
Microsoft said: The attacker writes the emails in excellent English and then sends them to the desired destination to invite them to the meeting.
Once the target accepts the invitation, the attacker attempts to trick the victim into entering the email password through a fake login page.
The attacker later logged into the mailbox to steal the victim's emails and contacts.
The organization's past hacking activities have also attempted to steal passwords from prominent victims.
As we all know, the phosphor group targets high-profile figures such as political leaders and presidential candidates. Microsoft said: The latest attack has nothing to do with the upcoming US presidential elections.
Microsoft announced last year that it had reported more than 10,000 victims of government-backed hacking organizations, including the Phosphorus Group and another Iran-backed organization called Holmium.
In March of this year, the software giant received a court order to take control of an area where the phosphorous group used fake Google and Yahoo login pages to steal data.