Chinese APT Abuses Multiple Cloud Tools to Spy on Mongolia
The threat actor gave itself plenty of options to support command and control, tapping Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Discord, and file.io for online espionage.
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The threat actor gave itself plenty of options to support command and control, tapping Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Discord, and file.io for online espionage.
Also: Software Supply Chain Risks, Cato's AI Security BuyIn this week's update, four ISMG editors discussed the Pentagon's review of Microsoft's use of Chinese nationals on U.S. military cloud systems, renewed concerns over software supply chain risks and Cato Networks' first-ever acquisition to boost AI security.
Defense Department Suspends, Reviews Microsoft 'Digital Escorts' ProgramThe Pentagon is reviewing Microsoft's decade-long use of "digital escorts" - U.S.-based staff who review code from Chinese engineers - into military cloud systems, a workaround now deemed a "breach of trust" that may have exposed sensitive but unclassified government data.
CISA Advisory Says Threat Actors Stole App Secrets in Azure-Hosted Backup PlatformA suspected Chinese state hacking group linked to last year’s telecom intrusions breached Commvault’s Microsoft Azure environment, exposing sensitive Microsoft 365 credentials and reigniting fears over U.S. cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities and default security settings.
The tech giant is boosting Entra ID and MSA security as part of the wide-ranging Secure Future Initiative (SFI) that the company launched following a Chinese APT's breach of its Exchange Online environment in 2023.
Microsoft Sees Cyberespionage Group Lifting API Keys and Credentials for CustomersA prolific cyberespionage group tied to Beijing appears to have increased its targeting of widely used IT tools and service providers. Microsoft said the group's tactics now include stealing API keys and credentials from providers to gain access to providers' downstream customers' infrastructure.
Microsoft warns that Chinese cyber-espionage threat group 'Silk Typhoon' has shifted its tactics, now targeting remote management tools and cloud services in supply chain attacks that give them access to downstream customers. [...]
They're good at zero-day exploits, too Silk Typhoon, the Chinese government crew believed to be behind the December US Treasury intrusions, has been abusing stolen API keys and cloud credentials in ongoing attacks targeting IT companies and state and local government agencies since late 2024, according to Microsoft Threat Intelligence.…
Funnull CDN rents IPs from legitimate cloud service providers and uses them to host criminal websites, continuously cycling cloud resources in and out of use and acquiring new ones to stay ahead of cyber-defender detection.
Evidence Mounts for Chinese Hacking 'Quartermaster'A probable Chinese nation-state threat actor compromised Visual Studio Code and Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure to target Western technology firms for espionage, security firms Tinexta Cyber and SentinelLabs said. The companies call the campaign "Operation Digital Eye."
A professional-grade tool set, appropriately dubbed "CloudScout," is infiltrating cloud apps like Microsoft Outlook and Google Drive, targeting sensitive info for exfiltration.
Resources hosted at Tencent Cloud involved in Cobalt Strike campaign Chinese web champ Tencent's cloud is being used by unknown attackers as part of a phishing campaign that aims to achieve persistent network access at Chinese entities.…
'It's not our job to find the culprits – That's what we're paying you for' lawmaker scolds Brad Smith Lawmakers on Thursday grilled Microsoft president Brad Smith about the Windows giant's businesses dealing in China — and the super-corp's repeated security failings — at a time when Beijing-backed spies are accused of breaking into Microsoft-hosted email accounts of American government officials.…
Hackers Target OpenMetadata Platforms Running on Cloud Kubernetes EnvironmentsHackers who appear to be Chinese are exploiting vulnerabilities in the OpenMetadata platform running as workloads on Kubernetes clusters to download cryptomining software, warned Microsoft. "I want to buy a car," the hackers tell victims in a note and solicit monero donations.
A federal review board demanded that the tech giant prioritize its "inadequate" security posture, putting the blame solely on the company for last year's Microsoft 365 breach that allowed China's Storm-0558 to hack the email accounts of key government officials.
CISA calls for 'fundamental, security-focused reforms' to happen ASAP, delaying work on other software A review of the June 2023 attack on Microsoft's Exchange Online hosted email service – which saw accounts used by senior US officials compromised by a China-linked group called "Storm-0558" – has found that the incident would have been preventable save for Microsoft's lax infosec culture and sub-par cloud security precautions.…
CISA calls for 'fundamental, security-focused reforms' to happen ASAP, delaying work on other software A review of the June 2023 attack on Microsoft's Exchange Online hosted email service – which saw accounts used by senior US officials compromised by a China-linked group called "Storm-0558" – has found that the incident would have been preventable save for Microsoft's lax infosec culture and sub-par cloud security precautions.…
Chinese hackers stole tens of thousands of emails from U.S. State Department accounts after breaching Microsoft's cloud-based Exchange email platform in May. [...]
The Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) has announced plans to conduct an in-depth review of cloud security practices following recent Chinese hacks of Microsoft Exchange accounts used by US government agencies. [...]
The review will also conduct a broader review of issues relating to cloud-based identity and authentication infrastructure