Hackers Steal Law Enforcement Documents From Microsoft 53
wiredmikey writes "Microsoft on Friday said that attackers breached the email accounts of a "select number" of employees, and obtained access to documents associated with law enforcement inquiries. According to the company, a number of Microsoft employees were targeted with attacks aiming to compromise both email and social media accounts '..We have learned that there was unauthorized access to certain employee email accounts, and information contained in those accounts could be disclosed,' said Adrienne Hall, General Manager at Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. 'It appears that documents associated with law enforcement inquiries were stolen,' Hall said. Targeted attacks like this are not uncommon, especially for an organization like Microsoft. What's interesting about this is that the incident was significant enough to disclose, indicating that a fair number of documents could have been exposed, or that the company fears some documents will make their way to the public if released by the attackers—which may be the case if this was a 'hacktivist' attack."
Ahh... (Score:5, Funny)
""Microsoft on Friday said that attackers breached the email accounts of a "select number" of employees,"
I see Microsoft uses hotmail internally too..
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I see Microsoft uses hotmail internally too..
Maybe, but what I'm really hoping for is their version of Snowdon to step forward and blow the whistle on a lot more of their nefarious activities.
They're a deeply unethical, deceptive and dangerous company that's been doing a lot of damage for a long time. I'm sure there are people working for them that have consciences and would be considering stepping forward.
If you're one of them, now would be a good time...
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When I was an engineering student I was required to take an ethics course, so yes, you can teach values.
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But can you learn them?
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Teaching ethics is like teaching a dog to whistle?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nLD5jKO5OrI/UPXUx2r20ZI/AAAAAAAAAGo/7CZcdINMzUg/s1600/assessment+cartoon.jpg [blogspot.com]
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So... Not being open source is evil? I can see that M$ would have just as much power to fight NSA letters as anyone else. Once you get one, it seems to compare with getting AIDS. Not really healthy for anyone's business model or the economy and your ability to participate in it, open source or not, I'm quite certain Phillip Zimmerman could chime in here.
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Google DDoSed those hotmail accounts too yesterday?
win ftw (Score:1)
Betting time! (Score:5, Insightful)
(A): Anyone curious about how shocked, shocked, Microsoft actually is about massive electronic eavesdropping by the feds.
(B): Technically sophisticated targets or likely targets of some law enforcement operation looking for information pertaining to their own case.
Any guesses? One of those botnet groups that Microsoft periodically tries to disrupt checking to see if they need to start retaining a lawyer, or coming soon to wikileaks?
Re:Betting time! (Score:5, Interesting)
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(D): All of the above.
Re:Betting time! (Score:4, Funny)
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Did anyone have any doubt that Microsoft willingly cooperates with the NSA and all other 3-letter-agencies? It would be more shocking to find out they haven't been helping. And didn't we see some Snowden or other information released some time ago showing the reason some Microsoft bugs were not patched quickly was because the NSA wasn't done exploiting them yet?
The only thing confusing about this to me is that I was under the impression that pretty much all law enforcement [shared] data was going through
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Simple: White hats publish, black hats don't.
Do we know that this is authentic? (Score:4, Insightful)
Has anyone confirmed that the blog post disclosing this incident is actually authentic?
One of the linked-to articles links to another article from the Seattle Times dated January 21, 2014 and entitled "Official Microsoft blog hacked again by Syrian Electronic Army [seattletimes.com]".
So at least one official Microsoft blog was apparently compromised within the past few days. If it happened once, there's the possibility that it could happen again.
I would feel more comfortable trusting the information about this incident if it weren't coming from a Microsoft blog post, too. I think that confirming this information via some other official channel would allow more trust to be placed in its authenticity.
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Nice try NSA. You've already shown your hand. We know you can love kittens on any website in the world, it's obvious that you've snuggled this poor commenter's post to spread your delightful agenda.
If microsoft==true then ??? (Score:3, Interesting)
If Microsoft can't educate their employees on how to avoid phishing / social engineering attacks what does this say for the rest of the world? Considering the fact that they have already had a number of other widely publicized incidents in the media recently, shouldn't they be on high alert?
I really hope at some point they decide to release actual details on what really occured, because love or hate them, Microsoft could be the company that actually does something that might actually get through to end users.
Annual report says MS unconcerned about security (Score:5, Informative)
It does not appear that Microsoft is "on high alert".
I recently read over the annual reports from major tech companies, looking at the business risks they report. This is an indication of how high level executives see the risks the company faces. Google, for example, has several paragraphs covering the damage to the brand, costly remediation, and potential liability if users' private information were breached, if confidential information about new product research leaked, etc.
Microsoft lists the following risks to their business:
Competition. If large organizations start using Google Docs etc. that would severely hurt Microsoftprofits.
Product flops. Products they are developing could flop the way Surface and Windows 8.
Legal action. MS is still in trouble in Europe for unlawful behavior.
Patent infringement. MS may be infringing on other companies patents.
Nowhere did it mention security as a risk that MS executives have on their radar screen at all. This is in marked contrast to Google and some others. Several "old guard" companies make no mention of how security issues could affect their business, while newer companies seem to be slightly more aware.
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One could argue that the "damage to the brand, costly remediation, and potential liability" that google details specifically just falls under Microsoft's competition, legal action and (possibly) product flops. "We're Microsoft. Only the little people deal with details!"
On the other hand, Google spells out a lot of things they are doing or are going to do to us.. and yet we click and use the products anyway..
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Annual reports are the very LAST PLACE anyone would expect to find pertinent information.
Its jus boiler plate. Written months or years ago. A mere wrapper around obfuscated somewhat current numbers specifically designed to leave the reader guessing.
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Nowhere did it mention security as a risk that MS executives have on their radar screen at all.
Of course not. Why would they be? They're the ones who make Windows.
Monday's announcement: (Score:5, Funny)
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The U.S. intelligence agencies torture people. That's a disincentive to hacking them.
e-mail for law enforcement? (Score:1)
people use e-mail to exchange law documents? I thought everyone uses fax or postal mail to send legal documents. I'm lost.
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Yes, all the time (I am an expert witness). And they coordinate documents, meetings, etc. via email too.
Re: e-mail for law enforcement? (Score:2)
Absolutely. I run legal doc review systems. The systems house everything from standard Office doc types and email, it obscure formats that sometimes require custom viewers to review. Lawyers are like everyone else, they use email to communicate. The only difference is that their email signatures say "privileged and confidential" so that if they are collected during forensic discovery, they can claim attorney client privilege and keep them from being used as evidence (in most cases).
Finally! (Score:4, Insightful)
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Assad's boys will be kicking down your door any day now.
Enjoy what little time you have left, because you and your al-qaida terrorist "rebel" friends are on the losing side.
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Assad's boys will be kicking down your door any day now.
Enjoy what little time you have left, because you and your al-qaida terrorist "rebel" friends are on the losing side.
I hope you're trying to be funny, but just in case, guess who're behind these ' al-qaida terrorist "rebel" friends'?
Yes, you guessed it, the USA and Saudi (same as it ever was)
not Assad.
Not Stolen (Score:5, Interesting)
If they were stolen the owner wouldn't have possession or use of said items.
Documents Deliberately Released? (Score:2, Insightful)
Former Microsoft SDE here. Given universal requirements for strong passwords, security briefings on social engineering, and sensitive document protection technologies employed internally at Microsoft, it seems equally likely to me that there was no actual breach of security. I would venture that these documents were deliberately released or left unguarded for hacktavists to easily find.
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Having worked with several MS security experts in my career, and given their near universal knowledge and somewhat Borg mentality concerning MS security practices, I would venture that you are correct. Except that it was not intentional, someone just REALLY pooched the goose and left the documents on a flash drive that got out while everyone was frantically looking for it.
Oh the stories I have... MS employees and contractors are funny.
law enforcement inquiries (Score:1)
Inquiries pertaining to what?
SEC, FBI, NSA?
Microsoft malfeasance?
Microsoft fraud?
Microsoft strong arm tactics?
Inquiries pertaining to Microsoft clients or consumers?
Tell you what, Microsoft, I'll be gentle on you and presume the least;
since you chose to come forward this time, I bet it's inquiries into
your own behavior and or practices.
Its hard to know who the criminals are these days (Score:2)
Setting aside the fact we won't get all of the facts, on a philosophical level I am beginning to lose a sense of victim, perpetrator, violation, motive, and crime. Frankly, I consider all players in this type of racquet and collective finger pointing and ass coverage to be a a twisted fetich for scumbags, liars, and thieves. The "legitimate" model for how these entities earn their keep and their general lack of commitment or accountability for anything else that results is typical human nature. Corporati