Microsoft SharePoint hack affects global federal agencies
A major security breach involving Microsoft’s SharePoint platform has affected government agencies, businesses, and research institutions globally.
Exploiting a “zero-day” vulnerability, the breach impacted US federal and state agencies, universities, and energy companies, with attackers gaining access to sensitive data and systems, as reported by The Washington Post.
The breach involved tampering with automated data systems and extracting passwords and cryptographic keys, allowing continued access even after patches. Microsoft has yet to issue a comprehensive fix, leaving victims struggling to secure their systems.
SharePoint, a crucial tool for collaboration and document management, is widely used across both commercial and government sectors. The breach has raised concerns about data theft and the long-term security of such platforms.
🚨BREAKING: MICROSOFT HIT BY MASSIVE CYBERATTACK - STATE SECRETS, CRYPTO KEYS, AND GOVT DOCS STOLEN
Hackers tore into SharePoint and nuked the vault ripping through U.S. agencies, EU servers, and global telecoms.
They stole everything… then vanished.
Thousands still haven’t… pic.twitter.com/tcRvFMUEoEThe FBI has confirmed the breach, and investigations are ongoing, with the US government, Canada, and Australia involved, as reported by Reuters.
Experts have warned that the ability of hackers to retain access using cryptographic keys poses an ongoing threat.
This incident is the latest in a series of security lapses for Microsoft, which has faced criticism over previous breaches, including one involving China-backed hackers in 2023.
The breach has spurred a reassessment of the cybersecurity readiness of major tech companies and raised alarms about the protection of critical infrastructure.
As cybersecurity teams work to assess the damage, concerns over the timeliness of response persist, especially after budget cuts to incident response teams.