Microsoft has said that it has experienced a “security intrusion” in a cyberattack similar to the suffered by Facebook, Apple and Twitter.
In a blog post, Matt Thomlinson, general manager of Microsoft’s computer security team said: “As reported by Facebook and Apple, Microsoft can confirm that we also recently experienced a similar security intrusion.”
He went on to write: “During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations. We have no evidence of customer data being affected and our investigation is ongoing.” .
Last week Apple confirmed its employee computers had been attacked by malware, which took advantage of a vulnerability in a Java program used as a plug in for web browsing programs.
Similarly Facebook confirmed it had been attacked through a loophole in Java software created by a mobile developer called Oracle, while Twitter told its users a hack compromising the data of 250,000 accounts was "not the work of amateurs".
Thomlinson ended by writing: “This type of cyberattack is no surprise to Microsoft and other companies that must grapple with determined and persistent adversaries.
“We continually re-evaluate our security posture and deploy additional people, processes, and technologies as necessary to help prevent future unauthorized access to our networks.”