Microsoft says it uncovered a new malware strain in Ukraine hours before invasion began

Date:
Wed, 02 Mar 2022 07:30:17 +0000

Description:
Microsoft has shed further light on its efforts to help defend the Ukrainian people and their government from targeted cyberattacks.

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Microsoft has revealed that it discovered a new malware strain just a few hours before Russia began its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In a new blog post , the software giant explained that one of its principal responsibilities as a software and cybersecurity company is to help defend both governments and countries from cyberattacks. As such, Microsoft has been paying close attention to the events going on in Ukraine.

Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center ( MSTIC ) has been monitoring the situation closely and several hours before Russia's invasion of Ukraine
began, it detected a new round of cyberattacks targeting the country's
digital infrastructure.

In addition to advising the Ukranian government on the matter, Microsoft's security team identified the use of a new malware package, which it has
dubbed FoxBlade, and provided technical advice on the steps needed to prevent falling victim to it. In fact, within three hours, signatures used to detect FoxBlade activity were added to Microsoft Defender to help defend against
this new threat. Precisely targeted cyberattacks

Over the course of the past few days, Microsoft has provided both threat intelligence and defensive suggestions to Ukrainian official regarding
attacks on a range of targets including Ukrainian military institutions, manufacturers and several other government agencies.

According to Microsoft, these ongoing cyberattacks have been precisely targeted and the company hasn't seen the use of indiscriminate malware technology across Ukraine's economy and beyond its borders since the NotPetya attack in 2017. Read More

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The company also remains concerned regarding recent cyberattacks on civilian digital targets including the financial sector, agriculture sector, emergency response services, humanitarian aid efforts and energy sector organizations
in Ukraine. These attacks on civilian targets raise serious concerns under
the Geneva Convention which is why Microsoft has shared all of the
information it has on them with the Ukrainian government.

Besides cyberattacks, there have also been efforts to steal a wide range of data including health, insurance and transportation-related personally identifiable information ( PII ) from Ukrainian citizens.

We could potentially hear more from Microsoft on its cybersecurity efforts in Ukraine if cybercriminals and nation state hackers alike continue to target the country and its citizens. We've also featured the best malware removal software and the best endpoint protection software



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-says-it-uncovered-a-new-malware-strai n-in-ukraine-hours-before-invasion-began/


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