Security News > 2021 > July > US and allies officially accuse China of Microsoft Exchange attacks
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US and allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and NATO, are officially blaming China for this year's widespread Microsoft Exchange hacking campaign.
The Biden administration attributes "With a high degree of confidence that malicious cyber actors affiliated with PRC's MSS conducted cyber espionage operations utilizing the zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server disclosed in early March 2021.".
"The attack on Microsoft Exchange software was highly likely to enable large-scale espionage, including acquiring personally identifiable information and intellectual property," the UK National Cyber Security Centre also said today.
"The attack on Microsoft Exchange servers is another serious example of a malicious act by Chinese state-backed actors in cyberspace," the EU and its Member States added in a separate statement issued today.
In early March 2021, Microsoft disclosed four zero-days actively being exploited in attacks targeting on-premises Microsoft Exchange servers.
After Microsoft disclosed the attacks, Slovak internet security firm ESET discovered at least ten APT groups targeting vulnerable Exchange servers.
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