Microsoft Server Software Comes Under Widespread Cyberattack

A Microsoft signage in New York, US, on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on October 30. Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg Photo by Jeenah Moon /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp.’s server software is under attack from unidentified hackers, with cybersecurity analysts warning of widespread security breaches across the globe.

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The Redmond, Washington-based software maker said it had released a new security patch for customers to apply to their SharePoint servers “to mitigate active attacks targeting on-premises servers,” adding it was working to roll out others.

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The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said it was aware of the vulnerability, which it said allowed hackers to access file systems and internal configurations, as well as execute code over the network.

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Cybersecurity firms cautioned that a broad section of organizations around the world could be affected by the breach, with Silas Cutler, a researcher at Michigan-based Censys, estimating that more than 10,000 companies with SharePoint servers were at risk. The US had the largest number of those companies, followed by the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada, he said.

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“It’s a dream for ransomware operators, and a lot of attackers are going to be working this weekend as well,” he added.

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Palo Alto Networks Inc. warned that “these exploits are real, in-the-wild, and pose a serious threat.” Google Threat Intelligence Group said in an e-mailed statement it had observed hackers exploiting the vulnerability, adding it allows “persistent, unauthenticated access and presents a significant risk to affected organizations.”

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The Washington Post reported that the breach had affected US federal and state agencies, universities, energy companies and an Asian telecommunications company, citing state officials and private researchers.

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Microsoft has faced a series of recent cyberattacks, warning in March that Chinese hackers were targeting remote management tools and cloud applications in order to spy on a range of companies and organizations in the US and abroad.

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The Cyber Safety Review Board, a White House-mandated group designed to examine major cyberattacks, said last year that Microsoft’s security culture was “inadequate” following the 2023 hack of the company’s Exchange Online mailboxes. In that incident, hackers were able to breach 22 organizations and hundreds of individuals, including former US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

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