Microsoft fingers Russia as main source of state-sponsored hacking

Microsoft has released some stats revealing the scale of the hacking attacks high-profile users are faced with.

Microsoft revealed that there have been 13,000 alerts about state-sponsored hacking attempts against Microsoft users over the last two years. Of these more than half (52%) originated from Russia, 25% from Iran and only 12% from China, current US public enemy No .1.

Russian hacker targets ranged from the Olympics to elections in multiple countries, as well as s nonprofit groups, professional services and higher education.

Microsoft says Russia-linked hackers also tried to break into 16 sporting and anti-doping organizations on three continents amid doping investigations into Russia athletes.

Iran was more focussed on politics and attacked 241 Microsoft accounts associated with a U.S. presidential campaign, current and former U.S. officials, political journalists and well-known Iranians living abroad.

China has also “attempted to gain intelligence on organizations associated with the upcoming U.S. presidential election,” but also engaged in attacks on medical research institutions in the U.S. and Asia.

As part of its Defending Democracy program, Microsoft offers free cybersecurity protections for users with existing Microsoft Office 365 products, including monitoring for potential hacking attempts by nation-state actors.

The full report can be read here.