Microsoft: Russia is behind most cyber attacks

The Russian-based hackers are responsible for most of the attacks - nationwide - on Microsoft customers, according to new company data.

Microsoft has issued 13.000 alerts for hacking attempts nationwide to its customers in the last two years, with 52% of cases between July 2019 and June 2020 being related to Russian hackers - whose goals range from the election to the Olympics. , according to a report released Tuesday. Iran was responsible for a quarter of them notifications, while China was responsible for 12%. The rest of the nation-state activity observed by Microsoft came from North Korea and other countries.

Russian hackers have targeted election and political organizations in many countries, as well as non-profit groups, professional services and the higher education sector, Microsoft says. Kremlin-linked hackers also tried to break into 16 sports and anti-doping organizations on three continents amid investigations into doping in Russian athletes.

"We see state-linked aggressors constantly evolving and trying new things. techniquesSaid Tom Burt, vice president of Microsoft. "Attackers gain by having such good resources, they are determined and flexible." Foreign hackers in recent weeks have continued to target organizations related to US policy, he said.

Iranian hackers have also been very productive, increasing the volume of their attacks over the past six months, Burt said. In August 2019 alone, Iranian hackers attacked 241 Microsoft accounts related to the presidential campaign. USA and current and former U.S. officials, political journalists, and prominent Iranians living in abroad, the report said. While only four of these attacks were successful, Microsoft expects activity to increase as the US election approaches.

The hackers based in China "They tried to get information about organizations related to the upcoming US presidential election," according to Microsoft. These hackers have also been active in cyber-related medical attacks investigations. Among the multiple hacking efforts of medical research institutes in USA and Asia, Chinese-based hackers attack US university investigating vaccine for corona on March.

China is one of 16 countries that Microsoft has observed targeting organizations involved in the global Covid-19 response effort. Targets of these attacks included global medical teams assistance and humanitarian aid together with government health care organizations.

But China was also the victim of the attacks that tried to take advantage of the pandemic. "China, the United States and Russia were hit hardest, but almost every country in the world faced at least one attack on him Covid-19"With the volume of successful attacks in countries affected by the outbreak increasing, the fear and desire for information has grown," the Microsoft report said.

Hospitals and other entities have also been hit by ransomware whose files have been locked until paid for. ransom. Ransomware is the "most problematic" and "fastest growing" threat to cyberspace, said Burt.