At least 30,000 US organizations including local governments have been hacked in recent days by an “unusually aggressive” Chinese cyber-espionage campaign, according to a computer security specialist.
The campaign has exploited recently discovered flaws in Microsoft Exchange software, stealing email and infecting computer servers with tools that let attackers take control remotely, Brian Krebs said in a post at his cyber security news website.
“This is an active threat,” White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said when asked about the situation during a press briefing.
“Everyone running these servers needs to act now to patch them. We are concerned that there are a large number of victims,” she added.
After Microsoft released patches for the vulnerabilities on Tuesday, attacks “dramatically stepped up” on servers not yet updated with security fixes, said Krebs, who cited unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
“At least 30,000 organizations across the United States — including a significant number of small businesses, towns, cities and local governments — have over the past few days been hacked by an unusually aggressive Chinese cyber espionage unit that’s focused on stealing email from victim organizations,” Krebs wrote in the post.
He reported that insiders said hackers have “seized control” of thousands of computer systems around the world using password-protected software tools, slipped into systems.
Microsoft said early this week that a state-sponsored hacking group operating out of China named “Hafnium” is exploiting previously unknown security flaws in its Exchange email services to steal data from business users.
Hafnium has in the past targeted US-based companies including infectious disease researchers, law firms, universities, defense contractors, think tanks, and NGOs.
(i24 News / AP)