U.S. Federal Agencies Ordered to Hunt for Signs of Microsoft Breach and Mitigate Risks

U.S. Federal Agencies Ordered to Hunt for Signs of Microsoft Breach and Mitigate Risks

April 12, 2024 at 12:45AM

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued emergency directive 24-02, urging federal agencies to look for signs of compromise and take preventive measures after the recent Microsoft system compromise by the Russian group Midnight Blizzard. The directive emphasizes analyzing exfiltrated emails, resetting compromised credentials, and applying stringent security measures.

From the meeting notes, it is clear that there has been a significant cyber attack and data breach involving Microsoft’s systems and federal agencies. The attack has been attributed to a Russian nation-state group known as Midnight Blizzard (aka APT29 or Cozy Bear). The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued an emergency directive (ED 24-02) urging federal agencies to hunt for signs of compromise and take preventive measures.

The directive includes actions such as analyzing the content of exfiltrated emails, resetting compromised credentials, and ensuring the security of authentication tools for privileged Microsoft Azure accounts. CISA is also urging affected entities to perform a cybersecurity impact analysis by April 30, 2024, and provide a status update by May 1, 2024, 11:59 p.m.

In addition, CISA is encouraging all organizations, regardless of direct impact, to apply stringent security measures, including strong passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and the prohibition of sharing unprotected sensitive information via unsecure channels.

Furthermore, CISA has released a new version of its malware analysis system, Malware Next-Gen, allowing organizations to submit malware samples and other suspicious artifacts for analysis.

These notes demonstrate the urgency and severity of the situation, and it is critical for federal agencies and organizations impacted by the breach to take the necessary steps to secure their systems and information.

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