The sophisticated attack on widely used Microsoft email software is turning into a global cybersecurity crisis as hackers seek to infect as many computers as possible before companies can protect their systems, Bloomberg reports.
According to a former senior US official familiar with the investigation, the attack, which Microsoft claims began with a hacker group backed by the Chinese government, has already affected 60,000 companies worldwide.
The European Banking Authority was one of the latest victims, saying on Sunday that access to personal data via emails stored on Microsoft’s server could have been compromised. Also on the list were banks and electricity providers, nursing homes and other companies. One US cybersecurity company said its experts worked with at least 50 firms, trying to quickly determine what data hackers could get.
The attack raised concerns among U.S. national security officials, in part because the hackers were able to hit so many victims so quickly. The researchers say that in the final stages of the attack, the hackers apparently automated the process, collecting data from tens of thousands of companies around the world in a matter of days.
Last week, it became known that more than 20,000 US organizations were at risk of compromise due to vulnerabilities in the messaging and collaboration software Microsoft Exchange Server.
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