Microsoft is again caught in China vs US cyber battle. This time China has accused America of using Microsoft bug to spy on the Chinese Military. According to a report in Bloomberg, China has accused the US of exploiting a flaw in Microsoft Corp’s email servers to steal military data and launch cyberattacks on its defense sector. The accusations come from the Cyber Security Association of China. The association is backed by the powerful Cyberspace Administration of China.In a statement, the Cyber Security Association of China said that US actors had been linked to two major cyberattacks on Chinese military companies without naming them. They exploited flaws in Microsoft Exchange to control the servers of a key company in the defense sector for nearly a year, it added.Microsoft has repeatedly blamed China for major cyberattacks involving Microsoft Exchange. In 2021, an alleged Chinese operation compromised tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers. In 2023, another alleged Chinese attack on Microsoft Exchange compromised senior US government officials’ email accounts.
Microsoft accuses Chinese hackers of exploiting SharePoint software
More recently, Microsoft said Chinese state-backed hacking groups had exploited vulnerabilities in its SharePoint file sharing software. Microsoft SharePoint is widely regarded as one of the biggest security breaches ever that impacted organisations world wide, including several US government departments. Chinese “threat actors” have hacked some Microsoft SharePoint servers and targeted the data of the businesses using them, the company said.According to reports, hackers breached about 400 government agencies, corporations and other groups around the world. According to cybersecurity researchers, most of the victims are in the US, followed by Mauritius, Jordan, South Africa and the Netherlands. Microsoft released security updates in response and advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them. In response to Microsoft’s claims, China’s US embassy spokesman said in a statement, “China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and cyber crime.”
