The news: Iran tried, and failed, to hack a US presidential campaign, plus US government officials, journalists, and Iranians living abroad, in a period extending from August to September, according to Microsoft cybersecurity officials. They have refused to identify the targets.
The numbers: The hackers made “more than 2,700 attempts to identify consumer email accounts belonging to specific Microsoft customers and then attack 241 of those accounts,” according to Tom Burt, Microsoft’s vice president of security and trust. The Iranian hacking group, code-named Phosphorous, has been active since at least 2008.
Some advice: It’s a reminder that basic security steps like two-factor authentication are strong and important defenses against even nationally sponsored operations. Read the full story here.
—Patrick Howell O’Neill
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