Microsoft Warns of Chinese Hackers Exploiting SharePoint Worldwide, Urges Urgent Security Patching

Microsoft has revealed a wave of cyberattacks on its SharePoint servers, which it believes were carried out by Chinese-backed hacker groups. Known groups include Violet Typhoon, Linen Typhoon, and Storm-2603. The hackers took use of previously unknown vulnerabilities, known as zero-day exploits, to gain unauthorized network access and steal user credentials.

One of the high-profile victims of this attack was the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is in charge of managing America's nuclear weapons.Fortunately, no confidential or sensitive material was stolen, according to Interesting Engineering's sources.

Microsoft detailed the threat in a blog post on July 22. It warned that more threat actors are now employing these flaws and strongly encouraged enterprises to repair their SharePoint systems immediately, particularly those operating the software on internal servers rather than Microsoft's cloud.

The cyberattacks started on July 18. According to an Energy Department official, the impact was mitigated by the department's usage of Microsoft's cloud-based security solutions.  Other potential victims include the US Department of Education, Florida's Department of Revenue, and the Rhode Island General Assembly, though none of these organizations have formally verified any breaches.

According to Bloomberg, more than 100 companies from various industries, including government, energy, education, and consultancy, have been affected globally. The attacks have affected several regions, including the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

To address this threat, Microsoft has issued urgent security fixes and hired cybersecurity specialists to strengthen its defenses. However, other experts, such as Eye Security's head hacker Vaisha Bernard, have cautioned that hackers have discovered ways to bypass those patches.

Meanwhile, China responded to the accusations, calling them false and requesting proof before making such claims.

This incident emphasizes the growing threat of foreign cyberattacks and the crucial necessity for solid cybersecurity policies, particularly for critical government and commercial systems.

This article is based on information from NDTV