Accounts of thousands of Microsoft users around the world hacked, attack reportedly linked to China

Microsoft Outlook users worldwide were reportedly hacked recently. The attack started with "a Chinese government-backed hacking group" and has affected 60,000 users globally, reported Bloomberg. These users mostly include small or medium-sized businesses like banks and electricity providers, senior citizen homes and an ice cream company. The Bloomberg report further reveals that a US cybersecurity company was working with at least 50 victims to investigate what the hackers gained access to and how to eject them.

The report added that a White House official has assured they are working to assess and address the impact of the attack and emphasised that this is an active threat that is still developing.

A Volexity official, a cybersecurity company that worked with Microsoft to "identify the flaws being used by the hackers" revealed that Hafnium is a Chinese hacking group that is apparently breaking into private and government computer networks via Microsoft's Exchange email software for months.

For the unversed, Russian hackers recently breached nine federal agencies and at least 100 companies. These hackers reportedly tweaked the software updates of SolarWinds LLC, an IT management software maker.

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