Active Stocks
Mon Mar 18 2024 15:55:53
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 149.60 5.69%
  1. Tata Motors share price
  2. 972.20 2.75%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 417.40 -0.51%
  1. State Bank Of India share price
  2. 730.70 -0.18%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,082.00 0.32%
Business News/ News / World/  Microsoft says China-linked group targets exchange email
BackBack

Microsoft says China-linked group targets exchange email

We are sharing this information with our customers and the security community to emphasize the critical nature of these vulnerabilities and the importance of patching all affected systems immediately, says the company

Microsoft released patches for the flaws in a blog post announcing the attack (REUTERS)Premium
Microsoft released patches for the flaws in a blog post announcing the attack (REUTERS)

Microsoft Corp. is urging customers to download software patches after state-sponsored hackers based in China broke into some customers’ copies of its software for email, contacts and calendar using multiple previously undiscovered flaws.

The attackers used the vulnerabilities to hack into Microsoft Exchange Server, allowing them to break into email accounts and install malware to “facilitate long-term access to victim environments," Microsoft said Tuesday.

Also Read | How citizen data led India’s Covid battle

Microsoft released patches for the flaws in a blog post announcing the attack. “Microsoft has detected multiple 0-day exploits being used to attack on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server in limited and targeted attacks," the blog said.

Previously undiscovered vulnerabilities are known as zero-days, and they are valuable to hackers because there aren’t defences against them -- at least until they are discovered and patches are created.

“We are sharing this information with our customers and the security community to emphasize the critical nature of these vulnerabilities and the importance of patching all affected systems immediately," the company said. It added that on-premise systems were affected but the online version of Exchange wasn’t.

The hackers responsible are “a group assessed to be state-sponsored and operating out of China," according to the blog. They typically target “entities in the United States across a number of industry sectors, including infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defence contractors, policy think tanks, and NGOs."


Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 03 Mar 2021, 05:20 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App