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| Microsoft warns of a complex Russian attack |
Microsoft has warned that complex and persistent cyber attacks could arise from the Russian hackers behind the SolarWinds hackers.
She said: It appears that the attack targeted government agencies, research centers, consultants and non-governmental organizations.
Microsoft estimates it will target 3,000 email accounts in 150 organizations. The victims are in more than 24 countries, but most of them are in the United States.
Hackers from an organization called Nobelium managed to hack USAID accounts through a marketing service called Constant Contact.
This way, they can send you phishing emails that look real.
The Microsoft message included a screenshot of an email that allegedly contained a link to Donald Trump's election fraud documents.
Clicking the link creates a backdoor that an attacker can use to steal data or infect other computers on the same network.
A permanent contact spokesperson said in a statement: “We understand that one of our client's account details has been compromised by malicious parties and has been used to gain access to a customer's persistent contact account.
He added, "This is an isolated incident and we have temporarily disabled the affected accounts when dealing with clients working with law enforcement agencies."
Microsoft said: It is believed that many attacks will be blocked automatically and that Windows Defender Antivirus will also limit the spread of malware.
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure has endorsed the Microsoft blog and urged officials to implement the required mitigation measures.
Microsoft warning:
This malicious email warned that the cyber attacks against US organizations showed no signs of slowing down.
It also shows that the hackers are updating their strategies to deal with the previously detected attacks.
Microsoft is calling for the introduction of new international standards to regulate the behavior of nation-states in cyberspace and anticipates the consequences of violating them.
The US government has accused Russia's foreign intelligence service SVR of hacking SolarWinds.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Russia was involved in the accident.
The attack is believed to have infiltrated about 100 private sector companies and 9 federal agencies.
Up to 18,000 SolarWinds customers are also believed to have been exposed to the malicious code.
In response, President Biden announced new sanctions on Russia and the expulsion of ten Russian diplomats from Washington.