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Microsoft has detailed an update on the ongoing cyber attack it has been subjected to from suspected Russian state-sponsored hackers.
Using information obtained during a hit last year, the group known as Midnight Blizzard has targeted Microsoft’s internal systems, the tech giant said in an official blog post.
The company has also shared the latest information with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in a fresh filing posted on Friday.
“In recent weeks, we have seen evidence that Midnight Blizzard is using information initially exfiltrated from our corporate email systems to gain, or attempt to gain, unauthorized access,” Microsoft wrote.
“This has included access to some of the company’s source code repositories and internal systems. To date we have found no evidence that Microsoft-hosted customer-facing systems have been compromised.”
What was the initial Midnight Blizzard cyber attack on Microsoft?
In a targeted recon mission, Midnight Blizzard (also known as Nobelium) was able to access a legacy system account using a password-spraying attack.
Although the malicious activity was discovered on 12 January, it is believed the cyberattack commenced in late November 2023, leaving the American multinational tech giant to play catch-up on the serious incident.
Now, Microsoft is facing further intrusion with the hackers “ attempting to use secrets of different types it has found,” as the company detailed an increase in the volume of the attacks. It stated password sprays had increased almost 10-fold in February, beyond the significant rate experienced in January this year.
This is a sophisticated, organized cyber attack that shows no sign of abating, as detailed in the statement.
“Midnight Blizzard’s ongoing attack is characterized by a sustained, significant commitment of the threat actor’s resources, coordination, and focus. It may be using the information it has obtained to accumulate a picture of areas to attack and enhance its ability to do so.”
“This reflects what has become more broadly an unprecedented global threat landscape, especially in terms of sophisticated nation-state attacks.”
Microsoft has insisted it remains committed to the ongoing investigation of Midnight Blizzard’s activities.
The hacker collective is believed to be working at the behest of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, known by its native initials, SVR.
Featured image: Pexels
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A survey has found employees are willing to pay 44% more for workers skilled in artificial intelligence (AI) for the IT sector and 41% more for staff working in research and development.
The study was conducted by Access Partnership on behalf of Amazon Web Services, with the key outcome being a scarcity of AI-skilled staff across various industry areas. In response, employers are willing to increase remuneration to future-proof their workforce.
4,664 employers and 14,896 workers across several Asia-Pacific markets, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, and Indonesia, were polled.
The findings detailed India as willing to provide the greatest increase across the region, offering a 54% salary spike, compared to an average of 33%, for workers who attain the relevant AI knowledge.
In sales and marketing, employers are prepared to splash out a further 39% increase, the same in business operations, whilst in finance, the figure stands at 37%.
What would employers get in return for higher salaries?
The AWS survey outlined there would be no ‘giveaway’ in salary gains for Asia-Pacific workers, which is expected to be proportional to increases in productivity as part of AI implementation.
Employers believe AI can boost productivity by more than half (51%) if fully leveraged across all functions, with staff on board with this aim. Those questioned said AI can increase productivity up by 50%.
On improvements to daily activity, 64% of employers stated task automation with 60% citing improved workflow and outcomes. A further 59% believe communication would be enhanced and 49% said innovation and creativity would be harnessed.
IT, business operations, and finance were identified as key departments to gain from the rollout of AI with scores of 91%, 89%, and 88%, respectively.
In terms of the departments that would benefit most from AI, 91% pointed to IT, while 89% and 88% highlighted business operations and finance, respectively.
The vast majority, 93%, believe AI skills will have a positive impact on their careers, acting as a catalyst for improvements such as better job satisfaction and faster career progression. 83% want to develop the requisite AI skills, including 87% of Gen Z workers and 79% of Gen X.
In a further breakdown, 68% of the workforce aged 55 or above, baby boomers, are ready to take on AI upskilling if presented with the opportunity.
Image credit: John Guccione/Pexels
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As pressure mounts on TikTok following recent congressional legislation, former President Donald Trump has gone on the record in support of the app.
In a post on Truth Social, a right-wing social media site, Trump wrote: “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People.”
For Trump, this is definitely a change of tune. In August 2020, he told reporters that he was planning to the app, and even issued an executive order to do just that in the days following. This order, which gave ByteDance 45 days to sell the app or face a ban in the US, but this order was later blocked by numerous federal judges. This means that Trump’s proposed ban never happened, as the executive order wasn’t legally allowed to stand. 
What’s going on with TikTok?
On Thursday March 7, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously voted to advance legislation which would force ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest ownership of the app. The legislation stipulates that it should be done within 165 days. 
The reason for this is because ByteDance is a Chinese company, which has led to fear among Americans over their user data security. This fear was so palpable that federal staff and state employees in 34 states are prohibited from having the social media app on Government/state devices. 
In a statement responding to the bill on Tuesday March 5, a TikTok spokesperson said: “This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”
Picture generated by Ideogram
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An analyst has urged caution on the artificial intelligence (AI) token market, warning the recent surge in prices could be fuelled more by hype, rather than its actual value.
In a report compiled by David Han, a research analyst at Coinbase, the long-term viability of the tokens was questioned, due to key factors. Intense competition within the market and technical issues were flagged as realistic obstacles in the way of AI tokens, further along the road.
At present, the proliferation of AI across many industries is driving the price up but Han believes the current values attributed could be overstated, without sustainable conditions to maintain the status even in the short-term future.
$26 Billion market capitalization for AI crypto
The report examines the claims made by crypto-based platforms of the potential to make a significant impact on the AI landscape, but questions remain. This caution comes despite landmark returns for heavyweight firms in the tech space.
Nvidia, the world’s largest supplier of chips used in AI, has enjoyed a 15% spike in its shares this week, as part of an overall boom.
The total value of AI crypto projects has already exceeded $26 billion this year, with CoinGecko underlining 37% of these gains have occurred in the last seven days. That would be grounds for serious optimism for some, but Coinbase has urged restraint on future prospects and the bold claims of prosperity raised by crypto platforms.
Han was cognizant of the upcoming regulatory challenges and wider market dynamics stacked against AI tokens as well as pointing to the technical difficulty presented by decentralized networks, which are the main idea of crypto AI projects.
“AI tokens generally benefit from strong associated performance in both the broader crypto market as well as related AI news headlines,” said the analyst.
“Rapid changes in AI make us cautious of bold claims that crypto-focused platforms are uniquely positioned to disrupt the industry, making the path towards long-term and sustainable value accrual to most AI tokens uncertain in our view, especially for those on a fixed token model,” Han continued.
So far in 2024, AI tokens such as Akash and Render have performed better than the overall crypto market, with respective gains of 146% and 99%, comparing favorably to the not-insignificant 54% increase in Bitcoin.
Image credit: Ideogram
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