Microsoft Hacked by Syrian Electronic Army: Employee Email, Twitter, Official Blog Accounts Hacked; SEA Not Done

By Michael Oleaga| Jan 16, 2014

Microsoft has confirmed employee email accounts were hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army.

The hacking group posted, and tweeted, three emails from Microsoft employees' Outlook Web Access accounts.

The hack by the SEA also affected Microsoft's official news blog and Twitter account.

"A social engineering cyberattack method known as phishing resulted in a small number of Microsoft employee social media and email accounts being impacted," said a Microsoft spokesperson, via The Verge. "These accounts were reset and no customer information was compromised."

In regards to Microsoft's official blog, it redirected visitors to the SEA's website. The Microsoft Blog featured links with titles such as "SEA Syrian Electronic Army Was Here...long live Syria!" and " SEA Was Here...Long live Syria!"

A memo to some Microsoft employees noted the company was in the process of changing all passwords as the hack occurred.

"Working with the teams now to address as it seems bitly is the backdoor that has been found," wrote Microsoft's Creative Director for Storytelling Steve Clayton.

According to the SEA on Twitter, the hacker group is not done attacking Microsoft and tweeted to "stay tuned for more!"

The hack comes a little over a week after the SEA accessed the official Skype blog and Twitter accounts.

"A Syrian Electronic Army representative says that the latest attacks were designed to be a distraction, indicating there could be further compromises in future," reported Tom Warren of The Verge.

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For the latest updates, follow Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO

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