US Court Order Lets Microsoft Seize 99 Websites From Iranian-Associated Hacking Group

Microsoft has seized control of 99 websites that were used by Iranian-linked hacker outfit known as Phosphorous to steal data from businesses, government agencies, activists and journalists, Corporate Vice President for Customer Security Tom Burt said in company blog post on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2019) microsoft has seized control of 99 websites that were used by Iranian-linked hacker outfit known as Phosphorous to steal data from businesses, government agencies, activists and journalists, Corporate Vice President for Customer Security Tom Burt said in company blog post on Wednesday.

"Today, court documents were unsealed detailing work Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit has executed to disrupt cyberattacks from a threat group we call Phosphorus - also known as APT 35, Charming Kitten and Ajax Security Team - which is widely associated with Iranian hackers," Burt said.

The District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order "enabling us last week to take control of 99 websites the group uses to conduct its hacking operations so the sites can no longer be used to execute attacks," Burt said.

Burt explained that Phosphorus created authentic looking websites with addresses - such as outlook -verify.net, yahoo-verify.net, verification-live.com and myaccount-services.net - to trick users into clicking on a link.

The group attacked businesses and government agencies to steal sensitive information, the blog added. In addition, the site targeted activists and journalists - especially those involved with issues related to the middle East, Burt added.

Microsoft worked closely with other technology companies, including Yahoo, to share threat information and stop attacks, Burt also said, noting that Microsoft in the process collected data needed for its lawsuit against Phosphorous that resulted in the court order.