Microsoft released a warning that Nobelium, the Russian hacking group blamed for the SolarWinds hack, is targeting tech companies and the global supply chain, Tom Burt, Microsoft corporate vice president of customer security and trust, said in an Oct. 24 blog post.
Five things to know:
- Mr. Burt said the SolarWinds hackers are targeting "resellers and other technology service providers that customize, deploy and manage cloud services and other technologies on behalf of their customers."
- Nobelium's approach will allow hackers to "more easily impersonate an organization’s trusted technology partner to gain access to their downstream customers," Mr. Burt said.
- Hackers are using phishing emails and password-spraying techniques to access accounts, Mr. Burt said.
- Since May, Microsoft has notified more than 140 resellers and tech service providers that they have been targeted by Nobelium. Of those, as many as 14 have been compromised, according to the blog post.
- Microsoft observed that the hacker group was very active during the summer. From July 1 to Oct. 19, the company notified 609 clients they had been attacked 22,868 times by Nobelium. The frequency of attacks has tripled in recent years, Mr. Burt said. Before July 1, Microsoft noted 20,500 attacks in three years.
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