New Delhi: Microsoft India’s retail website was down on Monday after an apparent hack, with a purportedly Chinese group called Evil Shadow Team posting doctored screenshots that seemed to be of partially obscured customers’ usernames and passwords.
Aerialists performing as a live human billboard, during the launch of the release of Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office. Photo: Bloomberg
“Microsoft is investigating a limited compromise of the company’s online store in India,” a Microsoft spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
“The store customers have already been sent guidance on the issue and suggested immediate actions. We are diligently working to remedy the issue and keep our customers protected,” she said.
The Microsoft Store India website showed an error message promising to restore access as quickly as possible.
The hackers obscured the full usernames and passwords in the screen shots posted on a blog run by Evil Shadow Team member 7z1. Writing in Mandarin, 7z1 describes himself as a “patriotic hacker”.
The hacker, 7z1, told the news agency the data had been found unencrypted on the website.
The Indian edition of Microsoft Store is operated by local company Quasar Media. A spokesman said the company was investigating.
“I am not sure when the site will be up again or what happened,” spokesman Rahul Roy said.