Microsoft says some SharePoint attackers now using ransomware

Published 24/07/2025, 04:50
© Reuters.

Investing.com-- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said on late-Wednesday that some hackers involved in a sweeping attack on its SharePoint service were now using ransomware, marking a potential escalation in the security breach. 

The company said in a blog post it had identified the deployment of “Warlock” ransomware by a group allegedly tied to China, which it calls “Storm-2603.” The group, along with two other Chinese hacking groups, was allegedly behind a recent attack on SharePoint servers, Microsoft had earlier said. 

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to a computer system until the targeted user pays a ransom, usually in cryptocurrency, to the attacker. 

Microsoft’s SharePoint enterprise software was hit with a series of “zero-day” exploits that used previously unknown vulnerabilities, which potentially compromised thousands of servers in networks ranging from financial institutions to government organizations.

Bloomberg reported this week that the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency responsible for maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile, was among those breached by the hack. 

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