San Francisco (AFP)
Microsoft warned customers on Tuesday that a group of state-backed hackers exploited security holes in its Exchange email services to steal data from its business users.
According to the American computer giant, the group of hackers, which it has dubbed "Hafnium", is a "highly qualified and sophisticated actor".
Hafnium has previously targeted companies in the United States, including infectious disease research, law firms, universities, advocacy companies, think tanks, and NGOs.
In a blog post, Microsoft chief Tom Burt said his group has released updates to address the vulnerabilities, and urged customers to apply them.
"We know that many state actors and criminal groups will act quickly to take advantage of any unpatched system," he warned.
"Applying patches quickly is the best protection against this attack."
According to Microsoft, Hafnium is based in China but operates through virtual private servers leased in the United States, and the United States government has been notified.
Beijing last year accused Washington of defamation over allegations that Chinese hackers were trying to steal research on the coronavirus.
In January, the American authorities had designated Russia as the main suspect of the massive hacking against the company SolarWinds, thus contradicting the former president Donald Trump who had accused China of being at the origin of this intrusion in the software from the US government and thousands of private companies.
Microsoft said Tuesday that the Hafnium attacks "were in no way related to the separate attacks related to SolarWinds."
© 2021 AFP