Security News
Microsoft is experimenting with different approaches to introduce new users to Windows 11's features as soon as they complete the initial setup, also known as the "Out of Box Experience". This app serves as a personal guide through the new features in Windows 11, showcasing Dev Home for those who've opted for the 'Development Intent'.
Microsoft has identified a new hacking group it now tracks as Flax Typhoon that argets government agencies and education, critical manufacturing, and information technology organizations likely for espionage purposes. Operating since at least mid-2021, Flax Typhoon mainly targeted organizations in Taiwan, although Microsoft discovered some victims in Southeast Asia, North America, and Africa.
Even if you join the Microsoft 365 Insiders Beta channel to test the new feature, there is no guarantee that Python in Excel will be available, as Microsoft is rolling it out slowly to test the feature. The new Python in Excel feature brings a new 'PY' function that allows users to embed Python code directly in a cell to be executed like any macro or regular Excel function.
A legitimate-looking ad for Amazon in Google search results redirects visitors to a Microsoft Defender tech support scam that locks up their browser. Clicking on the Google ad will redirect the person to a tech support scam pretending to be an alert from Microsoft Defender stating that you are infected with the ads(exe).
Infosec in brief Someone at Microsoft has some explaining to do after a messed up DNS record caused emails sent from Hotmail accounts Microsoft Outlook Hotmail accounts to be rejected and directed to spam folders overnight beginning Thursday. Microsoft support forum advisors confirmed that the issue was known, which was further confirmed by a look at the Office service status page.
Hotmail users worldwide have problems sending emails, with messages flagged as spam or not delivered after Microsoft misconfigured the domain's DNS SPF record. The email issues began late last night, with users and admins reporting on Reddit, Twitter, and Microsoft forums that their Hotmail emails were failing due to SPF validation errors.
Microsoft has discovered a new version of the BlackCat ransomware that embeds the Impacket networking framework and the Remcom hacking tool, both enabling spreading laterally across a breached network. "Microsoft has observed a new version of the BlackCat ransomware being used in recent campaigns," posted Microsoft.
Lax policies for package naming on Microsoft's PowerShell Gallery code repository allow threat actors to perform typosquatting attacks, spoof popular packages and potentially lay the ground for massive supply chain attacks. PowerShell Gallery is a Microsoft-run online repository of packages uploaded by the wider PowerShell community, hosting a large number of scripts and cmdlet modules for various purposes.
With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, cloud security posture management features are now available for Google Cloud Platform, as well as AWS and Azure. Almost 90% of enterprises use more than one public cloud provider, according to Flexera's 2023 State of the Cloud survey.
With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, cloud security posture management features are now available for Google Cloud Platform, as well as AWS and Azure. Almost 90% of enterprises use more than one public cloud provider, according to Flexera's 2023 State of the Cloud survey.