Although data breaches weren’t new for modern internet-dwellers, we rarely witnessed them in the case of larger companies. But, when entities like Yahoo announced breaches that affected billions of their user accounts in the past year, it became quite clear for us that nobody is absolutely safe.
Adding fuel to the fire comes the news from the ‘technical behemoth’ – Microsoft that one of their huge databases, with around 250 million records, was exposed.
There’ll be hardly any who don’t use Windows, and as this story comes from its creators, you should never miss this out!
Microsoft Dropped The Ball?
Microsoft, very recently, announced through a blog post that its internal customer database with anonymized user records was accidentally left on an open, unsecured server in between a period spanning from December 5th to December 31st, 2019. These records were used for reviewing support tickets and contained vital personal information like email addresses, IP addresses, location, and support case details.
Bob Diatchenko, the security researcher who spotted and alerted Microsoft of the issue, pointed out that 250 million customer service and support records, which contained endless conversations between Microsoft support team and customers, were accessible for anyone without requiring a password.
Microsoft said that most of the compromised records didn’t contain any personal information of users, and notified impacted customers accenting “found no malicious use of data.”
Even though the tech giant confirms there is not much to worry about, there is a threat. Fourteen years of customer data were exposed to the highly personal details mentioned above. Cyber experts warned that these details could be used by scammers that pose as support agents to steal money from unwary victims.
Microsoft openly acknowledged that the security breach had occurred due to misconfigured Azure security rules they deployed on December 5th (which has been fixed now).
Am I At Risk? 
Being a data processor, Microsoft is a company that takes information security seriously. Even with a product like Azure, which offers a bundle of automated processes to reduce human errors and data centers with tight physical security measures, their data got breached!
Even with these tech giants getting hacked so quickly, it makes one wonder how susceptible your company is to cyber-attacks?
A lack of focus on cybersecurity can significantly damage all businesses. Moreover, timely updates and fully concentrated functioning is essential. The lack of this is what we’ve observed in the case of Microsoft.
Stressing on this need to turn the focus on cybersecurity, Cybernetic Global Intelligence (CGI) – an Aussie cybersecurity company is ready with trained professionals and specialized services to beef up their efforts in helping organizations and institutions protect data and keep digital infrastructures safe!
Give a ring to 1300 292 376 or drop a mail to contact@cybernetic-gi.com, for assistance.