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Microsoft building in Times Square, New York City
Washington
CNN
—
Microsoft committed a “cascade” of “preventable errors” last year that allowed Chinese hackers to break into the tech giant's network and then break into the email accounts of senior U.S. officials, including the Secretary of Commerce. A scathing US government-backed investigation into the incident has been released. found.
A report released Tuesday by the U.S. Cyber Security Review Board (CSRB), a group of government and civilian cybersecurity experts led by the Department of Homeland Security, said the hack was “preventable and should never have happened.” “It has said. It was established in 2021 by President Joe Biden to study the root causes of major hacking incidents.
Specifically, the review board accused Microsoft (MSFT) of failing to adequately protect sensitive encryption keys that allowed hackers to forge credentials and sign into targets' Outlook accounts remotely.
Given the company's “central position in the technology ecosystem,” the report concludes that “Microsoft's security culture is inadequate and in need of an overhaul.”
The hack roiled the United States, allowing Chinese operatives to access unclassified email accounts of senior U.S. officials, including Ambassador Nicholas Burns, on the eve of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's high-profile visit to China last June. CNN reported that he did so. .
The hackers downloaded about 60,000 emails from the State Department alone, said department spokesman Matthew Miller.
The hackers also broke into Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's email account before her trip to China last August, Raimondo acknowledged.
China has denied the hacking allegations.
Microsoft announced in November that it would strengthen its security practices for software development and user protection in response to allegations of Chinese hacking and scrutiny of its security practices by U.S. lawmakers.
“We are grateful for their work. [Cyber Safety Review Board] A Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday.
Microsoft “has mobilized its engineering team to identify and mitigate legacy infrastructure, improve processes, and conduct security benchmarks,” the statement continues. “Our security engineers continue to harden all systems against attacks and implement more robust sensors and logs to help us detect and defeat enemy cyber forces.”
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company will consider the board's recommendations.
Last summer's alleged hack was one in a series of cyberespionage operations linked to China and Russia that target U.S. national security interests and exploit software widely used by companies such as Microsoft. Ta. Russian hackers allegedly broke into software made by American company SolarWinds in 2020 and stole emails from U.S. government agencies.
Corey Simpson, CEO of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a think tank, said: “The U.S. government has reached a decision point with its IT service providers to ensure that their cybersecurity is the same or better.” Stated.
“I hope this CSRB report will be used as a call to action by the U.S. government to make meaningful changes to its long-standing relationship with Microsoft,” Simpson told CNN.
