A group of cybersecurity companies, including Microsoft, are launching a full-scale legal crackdown today against one of the top hacking tools malware groups use in their attacks.
Microsoft, cybersecurity firm Fortra and the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center unveiled a wide-reaching legal plan to tackle malicious versions of Fortra's Cobalt Strike and Microsoft's software development kits.Cobalt Strike is a widely-used penetration testing tool that allows organizations to test their security defenses before an attack.
That same year, the now-defunct Conti ransomware gang also attempted to used Cobalt Strike to deploy malware against Ireland'sOn Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York awarded a court order to the organizations allowing them to seize domain names where malicious actors have been storing and sharing malicious versions of Cobalt Strike.
The court order allows Microsoft, Fortra and the H-ISAC to automatically notify and takedown IP addresses in the United States that are hosting manipulated versions of these tools. Those takedowns will start today, and the court order allows for future takedowns as criminals develop new infrastructure.
Microsoft will also notify hosting providers in Latin America and the European Union on Thursday about domain names that are believed to be hosting tainted versions of Cobalt Strike. Microsoft and Fortra also received a temporary restraining order against those violating the copyright of their programs to make it easier for them to seize and shutdown malicious versions of the software.: It's rare for private companies to turn to the court system on their own to target malicious hackers' tools and tactics.before, today's actions are the company's first at targeting specific tools that a wide-range of actors use.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Eastern Illinois University faculty and staff slated to strike Thursday: ‘We lose wages when we strike’Eastern Illinois University union members and university officials have been bargaining for more than a year.
Read more »
Save over $800 and get an Apple MacBook Air & lifetime access to Microsoft WordThis bundle brings you the ultimate productivity package.
Read more »
Microsoft is making it easier to block annoying autoplay videos in EdgeEdge Canary users will get this new feature first
Read more »
Microsoft, Amazon face cloud competition probe as UK regulator raises alarmMicrosoft and Amazon were accused by U.K. regulators Wednesday of unfairly restricting competition in the cloud services market.
Read more »
The Morning After: Microsoft’s new Xbox controller is partially made of ground-up CDs | EngadgetThe biggest news stories this morning: President Biden says it 'remains to be seen' if AI is dangerous, Microsoft’s new Xbox controller is partially made of ground-up CDs, Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy protection as it seeks a buyer..
Read more »
Amazon, Microsoft cloud services could face U.K. antitrust probeCiting “significant concerns” that Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. could be stifling competition in the cloud-computing market, U.K. regulators on...
Read more »