Microsoft is a well-known US-based tech company responsible for the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 cloud services, and much more. The tech giant employs over 220,000 workers and creates software that's used to handle business data in all areas of the world. With so much information passing through systems crafted and maintained by Microsoft, it's frightening to hear the company is suffering from a data breach. Hackers are constantly targeting Microsoft products, but the latest breach leaves many businesses vulnerable.
We don't know specifically what information was taken in this Microsoft data breach, but we know many companies using Office 365 solutions lost information to the hackers that attacked them. Among the data, there is likely confidential business information, but potentially personal or medical data for consumers and employees of the companies involved.
The data breach occurred because a hacker gang carefully targeted Microsoft 365 cloud services and learned how to exploit the system to gain access to the business information contained within. The targeted attacks resulted in significant data losses that could set the businesses involved back dramatically.
The data breach was first noted in July of 2023, but we don't know the exact date the attacks began. The Federal Civilian Executive Branch first determined that the breach was occurring and notified Microsoft and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency about the attacks.
The breaches impact companies utilizing Microsoft 365 cloud services and Microsoft itself. It's unclear whether consumers or employees of the involved companies have been exposed to this attack yet.
There is no way to know how many data files were accessed and copied during this string of data breaches involving Microsoft companies.