Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe (reuters.com)

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Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @05:30AM from the security-woes dept.

Microsoft said today it had discovered hacking targeting democratic institutions, think tanks and non-profit organizations in Europe and plans to offer a cyber security service to several countries to close security gaps. From a report: The hacks occurred between September and December 2018, targeting employees of the German Council on Foreign Relations and European offices of The Aspen Institute and The German Marshall Fund, the company said. Microsoft said it found out about the hacks through the company's Threat Intelligence Center and Digital Crimes Unit, and the hacks targeted 104 employee accounts in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Serbia. Hackers in most cases create malicious weblinks and spoofed email addresses that look legitimate, aiming to gain access to employee credentials and deliver malware, the company said.

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Linux users by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:36 · Score: 0

Amirite?
1. Re: Linux users by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:38 · Score: 0
  
  All of them? Oh gosh, I am just a little old Linux user, why would I be hacked?
this is why by zlives · 2019-02-20 05:42 · Score: 4, Funny

this is why i never trusted the Discovers credit card, not that AMEX is much better but at least they are not Hacking...
*facepalms* by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:42 · Score: 1

Slashdot says discovers English. Says much English with headlines soon. Maybe says grammar next!
1. Re: *facepalms* by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:50 · Score: 0
  
  You read all wrong Chinese articles. Why Chinese care about grammar? They have no grammar so why care if others have grammar? Make fun. Nothing to lose. Because huwai stock go up by factor of 20! I swear! Want to buy some? Wait for phone call. Watch me laugh and rub hands together!
2. Re:*facepalms* by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:55 · Score: 0
  
  Slashhdot can haz English?
3. Re: *facepalms* by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:17 · Score: 0
  
  Never. Slashdot haz can English, no.
4. Re:*facepalms* by DontBeAMoran · 2019-02-20 07:24 · Score: 1
  
  I wasn't sure WTF I was reading, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
5. Re: *facepalms* by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 14:18 · Score: 0
  
  Engrish!
Re: No European Moscow Donald by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:44 · Score: 0

I think of him more as a vengeful destroyer and not a hacker
No Commercial Value by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:45 · Score: 0

democratic institutions, think tanks and non-profit organizations

Trade relations may turn to worse for these but what else would be a goal? Disrupting elections is just a waste of time as it just makes it more difficult to predict the policies of the ones who will sit on the other side of the table.
1. Re:No Commercial Value by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:03 · Score: 0
  
  Depends on who does the disruption.
  Does the actor benefit more from order that is predictable? That may be true for allies or friends.
  Does the actor benefit more from chaos that is unpredictable? That may be true for rivals or enemies.
  
  If you manage to sow discordance among an organized rival, it can weaken them. If they don't find new cohesion eventually they can fall apart because of all those destabilization efforts.
  And when they are apart it will be much easier to deal with the states individually than when they're united. Divide an conquer, a concept as old as ancient Greece BCE. As a concept it's also frequently applied in the field of (computer) science and engineering, where larger problems are broken into smaller problems. And yet today a lot of people do pretend to not understand the very idea behind it or they really don't get it.
2. Re:No Commercial Value by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 17:11 · Score: 0
  
  They think it's the GRU. Maybe the Russians are afraid of some environmental organizations, sex with the same sex, Catholics or something like that.
  
  Divide an conquer,
  But does that apply to peace-time politics when maximum profit is the target? That's the thing, maybe Russians like to lessen their profits to ensure the suffering of Russians who look up to their great leader, or are still polishing those tank divisions to conquer Europe like the Holy Stalin intended.
3. Re:No Commercial Value by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 22:01 · Score: 0
  
  I suppose a look into their media would be sufficient enough to tell what the average Russian's fears may be. There you'll be able to see their own fear mongering tactics to keep the population on their toes and distract from inner political issues. That is how it works in every other country anyway and with Russia's Cold War propaganda background they certainly know how this has to be done.
  The 'homosexual agenda' of the EU has been used in the past by Putin to gain sympathies. There's conspiracy theories about how homosexual propaganda is turning straight people gay, with the intent to destabilize countries in their moral values, spreading disease (HIV), not conceiving workers and soldiers and so forth.
  These fears already work well enough inside of EU or the US. Why wouldn't you be able to play on the same fears in Russia? In the EU or the US homosexuality is usually backed up by the constitution of the respective countries. It's a personal thing between individuals and the state has to keep their noses out of those. I'm pretty sure that the Russian constitution says something similar, that would give homosexuals the same rights as everyone else. So Putin had to introduce some new laws that superficially protect his country from those evil people.
  Sure it can apply to peace times. Break apart the obstacles and try to leave your trade partners in a situation where they need you.
  Peace is relative anyway. It's always a competition. The choice of weapons is different. And since open warfare with warmachines like tanks is pretty expensive, and proxy warfare can't work in this situation, I can see why other methods are preferred.
  As far as I can tell their intention is to weaken the bonds between individual states. They do that by appealing to the nationalists of those states, who usually do not like the idea of the EU but do care for their own country.
  Nationalists from Germany (or Austria) for example like Nord Stream 2 and want to push it forward. They want to trade with Russia and buy their inexpensive natural gas. Conservatives and Socialists also like Nord Stream 2, because of the nuclear and coal phase out they know that there has to be some other afforable replacement to keep energy intensive economies inside the country. France and by extension the EU however does not like the project. An obstacle for both the economical interests of Germany and Russia.
4. Re:No Commercial Value by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-21 01:02 · Score: 0
  
  I think there are these underlying differences of ideas how EU should work: some countries and people prefer the rule of law and contract approach, while for others it is a political union. This is probably one reason why the common foreign policy was agreed on in the first place and the differences negotiated internally. Democracy in action, so to speak.
5. Re:No Commercial Value by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-21 05:14 · Score: 0
  
  From my perspective the EU would have to be both for it to work in the long run.
  Personally I do believe that a union between European states to both bolster their economies and military defense is a good thing for those Europeans. I just don't think that the EU with the structure of its governmental body is that union.
  The resistance of Hungary and Poland is an interesting development though. While I may not agree with their methods, they do serve as valuable examples similarly to the UK. Brexit shows how leaving the EU may look like if you do not already have a good plan in place that people agreed upon. One might wonder how a second referendum may turn out. Now that the people were provided with all that vital information they were lacking when they had to make their choice. And of course this "divorce" is a good example for nations that may be interested in joining the EU. You know (or not): If you think quitting your gym membership is annoying, try quitting the EU.
  Poland and Hungary show how far you can push it before the EU may start with sanctions. So far they've shown that nations can still be somewhat independent in their policies. Which does make some home. For the sake of my own curiosity I hope one of them pushes it too far. Reveal that threshold where the EU thinks they become more trouble than it is worth for the Single Market.
Steve Martin was right by ItsJustAPseudonym · 2019-02-20 05:51 · Score: 5, Insightful

Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe
Steve Martin was right when he said: "Some people have a way with words. Other people...not have way."
1. Re:Steve Martin was right by thegreatbob · 2019-02-20 06:15 · Score: 1
  
  Come now, it's just a missing apostrophe. Microsoft is clearly stating that Discover's hacking is targeting democratic institutions in Europe.
  
  --
  There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
2. Re:Steve Martin was right by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 16:33 · Score: 0
  
  Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe
  Steve Martin was right when he said: "Some people have a way with words. Other people...not have way."
  Hes the hero we does deserve.
3. Re:Steve Martin was right by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 17:09 · Score: 0
  
  Hackers penetrate and ravage delicate public and privately owned computer systems, infecting them with viruses, and stealing materials for their own ends. These people, they are terrorists.
Hire a competent editor. by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 05:51 · Score: 4, Informative

Who the fuck is writing these headlines? Sloth feom the Goonies?
1. Re:Hire a competent editor. by Fly+Swatter · 2019-02-20 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't it all AI these days? Sure looks artificial.
2. Re:Hire a competent editor. by Highdude702 · 2019-02-20 14:24 · Score: 1
  
  Fake Intel. I tell you it cant be trusted!
But only Democratic Institutions by turp182 · 2019-02-20 05:54 · Score: 1

I'm not sure who Discovers is, but at least communist, socialist, and even monarchist institutions aren't being impacted.

--
BlameBillCosby.com
1. Re:But only Democratic Institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:34 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not sure who Discovers is
  It's like an album cover.
2. Re:But only Democratic Institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:37 · Score: 0
  
  According to Lenin socialism is the road to communism.
3. Re:But only Democratic Institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 07:39 · Score: 0
  
  Socialism is not anti-democratic actually, Communism and Monarchy are. #Education, Republicans, you can't just quit and go to prison like Trump
  Learn to quote Lenin if you're going to quote Lenin, moron. "For any truth, if overdone ... if exaggerated, or if carried beyond the limits of its applicability, can be reduced to absurdity."
4. Re:But only Democratic Institutions by Livius · 2019-02-20 08:09 · Score: 1
  
  Except the Vatican, monarchist institutions in Europe are all democratic. Most socialist institutions also.
5. Re:But only Democratic Institutions by mcl630 · 2019-02-20 11:31 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not sure who Discovers is
  It pays to Discover...
6. Re: But only Democratic Institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 19:04 · Score: 0
  
  Hans, Hans, Hans... Haven't you Euro-peons heard of the DEMOCRATIC Please Republic of Korea? Them there Norks are pretty much just as "democratic" as the obsolete Cold War institutions for which you are paid to shill.
Re: No European Moscow Donald by peppepz · 2019-02-20 05:57 · Score: 1

Are you sure? Look harder.
Title, Summary... by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:01 · Score: 0

Sense
does
make
not
it.
captcha : eligible
None of those are democratic institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:11 · Score: 3, Informative
- The German Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, private, non-partisan and non-profit organisation. They're lobbyists.
- The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit think tank. They're lobbyists.
- The German Marshall Fund is a self-proclaimed nonpartisan American public policy think tank. They're lobbyists.
There is nothing democratic about them. Two of them are literally Americans trying to steer European politics. All of them have been founded to exert more than their fair share of political influence.
1. Re:None of those are democratic institutions by manu0601 · 2019-02-20 12:14 · Score: 1
  
  Ineed, the title should be "Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Lobby Institutions in Europe "
2. Re:None of those are democratic institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 16:34 · Score: 0
  
  Or if these had been Russian it would be "Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Shady Organizations Under Foreign Influence Destabilizing and Undermining Democracy"
3. Re: None of those are democratic institutions by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 20:54 · Score: 0
  
  Like it or not, lobbying is how democracy works.
  It's how it's always worked. Nobody has ever run a democracy that wasn't based on lobbying. There is no empirical reason to believe that such a thing is possible.
Re:THEY DESERVE TO BE HACKED by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:12 · Score: 0

Wow. Someone found a conspiracy theory that requires the Jews conspirators and radical Muslims who'd like to exterminate all Jews to work together.
Clickbait? democratic doesn't seem to be by bobstreo · 2019-02-20 06:15 · Score: 1

Democratic Party in the US.
In fact the "attacked" sites don't even seem to be EU democrats.
I wonder if the people being attacked because they have something in common, like using Microsoft tools to provice web access. /s
1. Re:Clickbait? democratic doesn't seem to be by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:40 · Score: 0
  
  I wonder if the people being attacked because they have something in common, like using Microsoft tools to provice web access. /s
  They have other things in common. Like you said they're from the US. That makes them at least in theory good enough targets for anyone who does not like the US.
2. Re:Clickbait? democratic doesn't seem to be by Highdude702 · 2019-02-20 14:28 · Score: 1
  
  Russians confirmed! /s
Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting by nwaack · 2019-02-20 06:37 · Score: 1

I can haz cheezburger?
So. . . by bob4u2c · 2019-02-20 06:40 · Score: 1

the hacks targeted 104 employee accounts in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Serbia. Hackers in most cases create malicious weblinks and spoofed email addresses that look legitimate, aiming to gain access to employee credentials and deliver malware, the company said.
Phishing right?

Not hacking. Maybe if it was Targeted Phishing, but the article doesn't mention that. It just says they create malicious weblinks, and spoofed email addresses to get employee credentials and install malware. They don't say where the weblinks were, but I'm guessing people got emails with embedded links that users followed.

Sorry, but I get at least 4 of these e-mails a day which get caught by the spam filter. I would recommend they get a better spam filter. I would also recommend a round of user training, ie never follow a link in an email, even if it looks legit.
1. Re:So. . . by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:53 · Score: 0
  
  If it was targeted at specific organizations it's called spear phishing. And while it technically may not be hacking, due to the targeted nature it certainly is a form of cyber attack.
2. Re:So. . . by bob4u2c · 2019-02-20 09:00 · Score: 1
  
  due to the targeted nature
  Exactly, where does it say this was targeted?
  
  Or is this yet another "The Russians did it" story that is suppose to make me think Russians are rigging every election. Because I'm sorry; I've run websites that have had no political or strategic importance that were attacked daily by traceable Russian and Chinese sources. Looking at all the logs from these attacks (and e-mails) it is clear the intent was to control as many machines as possible, not to break into a specific system. Even sites that did have strategic importance showed the same shotgun hacking approach to try and breach some security vulnerability for which a patch was released just a few weeks prior.
  
  At this point it would be more suspicious to look at the logs/traffic of any site and not see these kinds of attacks going on. That would tell me they already have a foot in the door, or the company is owned/controlled by them already.
3. Re:So. . . by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 09:20 · Score: 0
  
  You said it was targeted, the summary here said it was targeted, the Reuters article said it was targeted. So you tell me.
  
  All we can say is that they were hit by the attacks if this is true.
  Of course there's no way to be sure how targeted such an attack was. Like you say it could just be the 'noise' of attacks practically everyone gets. It's difficult to prove how isolated these attacks were without a huge investigation.
  I also have no idea who did it. As far as I am concerned, since those named targets are groups that are funded from without the EU, it could be very well agents from within the EU who wanted to attain more transparency (to use euphemisms). You certainly do have some preconceived notions there.
Jebus Christ by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:46 · Score: 0

"Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking..."
And what did they says next?
Who is Microsoft Says.. by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 06:46 · Score: 0

..and how do they know it was Discovers?
Great trick by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 07:31 · Score: 0

Something like the NSA can do this:
- Send phishing emails
- Get them detected by Microsoft
- Microsoft offers cyber protection
- Route all traffic and filesthrough Microsoft so you can capture it all
- $$$$ Profit!
State Actor by Only+Time+Will+Tell · 2019-02-20 07:38 · Score: 1

I'm willing to guess there was a particular state actor directing the hacking. I would have been more surprised if the article was about Russia and/or China finding ways to support western democracies rather than undermining them.
Slashdot by Blue+Stone · 2019-02-20 07:46 · Score: 1

I had problems signing into slashdot the last couple of days. I kept getting stuck in a loop, punctuated only by some GDPR form, but whenever I hit enter, I'd get sent right back to the login screen. No matter what scripts I allowed, cookies cleared, or settings I adjusted, I couldn't sign in. Was it the GDPR form? Was it the website? My browser? I kinda resigned myself to not using slashdot any more (despite it being one of the first sites I used when I got onto the internet many years ago) after it all got me thinking about how little use I get from the site these days. Dropping by is more habit than anything. It was a little sad, but, y'know ... whatever; all things must pass and all that.
But it's content like "Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe" and the taxing intellectual puzzle it presents, firing all my neurons in a despetrate attempt at pattern-matching, as I try to figure out what the author is actually trying to say, that made me remember why I just can't quit you, Slashdot!
I'M BACK BABY!
(Actually I'm back because the login unfucked itself.)

--
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
1. Re:Slashdot by Highdude702 · 2019-02-20 14:41 · Score: 1
  
  I use safescript, I allow only the *.slashdot.org the $hash.cloudfront.net and a.fsdn.com and adblock block everything. I however live in the US so maybe it was something with your IP? Next time try a free(or trial) vpn plugin or something like tunnelbear which lets you select output regions.
It's not just a missing apostrophe by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 07:59 · Score: 0

It's hackers this, hackers that, hackers the other, hackers some more, hackers in your underwear, hackers in your fridge, hackers in your everywhere, hackers hackers hackers hackers. Did we mention hackers yet? Because there's hackers. Hackers!
Just so you know there's hackers involved. You know those hackers? They're like hackers, only more like hackers. Hackers!
I didn't need to check to know that this is an msmash special. It's always hackers, to the point theyr'e getting off on it.
And the entire thing is guaranteed to be content-free, of course. Nice counterpoint to more proof that that very same company is not to be trusted because this time it kept a secret whitelist in their browser, though.
1. Re:It's not just a missing apostrophe by Highdude702 · 2019-02-20 14:22 · Score: 1
  
  Hackers hack something something hacking hacker you LUDDITE hacker hack hacking(??) Something something APPS!! or wait no HACKS!! Sorry they sound the same and I'm kinda stoned.
Discover's hacking? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 08:40 · Score: 0

Discover's hacking?
What about MC, Visa and Amex? Are they hacking too?
Three letters by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 08:54 · Score: 0

SPH
MsMash Says Discovers English Write Better Well by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 10:39 · Score: 0

"Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe"
My subject line makes about as much sense as the headline. Headline fail.
Remember... by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 11:03 · Score: 0

"Microsoft Says Discovers Hacking Targeting Democratic Institutions in Europe" - in order to divert the fact that Microsoft is also spying on all Windows 10 users.
Microsoft Claims It Discovered.... by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 11:04 · Score: 0

Learn how to write English
Re:THEY DESERVE TO BE HACKED by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 16:31 · Score: 0

I won't endorse any of the above or can't comment much on the quality of it but, have you heard of the war in Syria?
Israel officially congratulated itself for the assistance it gave to the jihadis on the border between the Golan and the rest of Syria. This doesn't touch what Israel's allies did (US, Saudi, etc.) and which Israel didn't apparently object to.
Some conspiracies are completely true and real, without conspiracy there would have been no war in Syria and no invasion of Iraq.
Re: No European Moscow Donald by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 18:47 · Score: 0

Thank you for being outraged, American dogs! Fight among yourselves!
Yours Sincerely,
Comrade Major Lifeng Wang
Information Operations Directorate
Ministry of State Security
14 East Chang'an Street
Dongcheng Qu
Beijing
People's Republic of China
Re: THEY DESERVE TO BE HACKED by Anonymous Coward · 2019-02-20 19:45 · Score: 0

There are plenty of good Jews in the world - just like any other big group of people.
Soros is no "Jew". He is LITERALLY A NAZI COLLABORATOR.
They also say ... by Obfuscant · 2019-02-21 08:24 · Score: 1

"Microsoft" also says they've detected my computer is infected with malware and I need to type certain things in so they can remotely debug and disinfect it. At least that's what the nice man with the Indian accent says when he calls me several times a week.
Maybe that's the same company that provides Microsoft support that is closing down and needs me to call them back to get a refund on my service contract?
Joke of the year by uulbri · 2019-02-21 18:54 · Score: 1

So Microsoft will help to secure ? Ah ah ah.
I would prefer to ban all proprietary software from any public organization... Or continue to pay Microsoft consultancy to fix Microsoft bugs.