FBI, Microsoft Strikes Against Hackers Are Harbinger Of More Pre-Emptive Actions
First the FBI. Now Microsoft.
A day after the FBI revealed last week that it had pre-emptively disrupted a Russian-government backed botnet, Microsoft revealed that it had proactively thwarted an attempt by Russian hackers to attack Ukrainian entities.
James Morrison, who spent 22 years with the FBI as a senior computer scientist focused on cybersecurity, cybercrime and ransomware and is now CISO at Spring, Texas-based Ntirety, said he believes that the FBI and Microsoft’s aggressive actions are a harbinger of more pre-emptive strikes to come amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and heightened concerns over cybersecurity in general.
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“It’s not a coincidence,” said Morrison, adding, however, that he’s not saying the FBI and Microsoft collaborated behind the scenes on their separate actions against Russian cyberintruders.
Instead, he said, the actions are more a sign of the tense times—with increasing global cyberattacks and threats against government agencies and private institutions alike. Indeed, he noted that cyberattacks have increased by 800 percent since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, based on data from the FBI and Homeland Security.
As for Microsoft’s recent action against Russian hackers, he said it’s a “good thing” for cybersecurity in general. But he said a “little caution” is in order because such strikes must be legally permissible in each case.
In a blog entry posted late Thursday, Tom Burt, a Microsoft corporate vice president, customer security and trust, stressed that Microsoft obtained a court order before it moved against the Russian group, known as Strontium, which has been linked to Russian intelligence services.
In his blog post, Burt said that Strontium, which Microsoft has been tracking “for years,” was attempting to seize control of seven internet domains to launch attacks against Ukrainian institutions, including media organizations.
“[Strontium] was also targeting government institutions and think tanks in the United States and the European Union involved in foreign policy,” Burt wrote.
“We believe…
