Advertisement

Microsoft: Russia responsible for 58% of all state-backed hacks

President Joe Biden announced new sanctions on Russia in retaliation for alleged misconduct, including the SolarWinds hack and efforts to disrupt the U.S. election. File Photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI
1 of 3 | President Joe Biden announced new sanctions on Russia in retaliation for alleged misconduct, including the SolarWinds hack and efforts to disrupt the U.S. election. File Photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A report published by Microsoft on digital defense shows that 58% of detected state-backed hacks over the past year have been from Russia.

The most targeted hacks are U.S. government agencies and think tanks, followed by Ukraine, Britain and European NATO member-states.

Advertisement

Microsoft gathered data from more than 24 trillion security signals launched daily last year and had a team of thousands of security experts across 77 countries contribute to the report.

The 134-page report shows that North Korea was responsible for 23% of all attacks, followed by Iran at 11% and China at 8%.

Tom Burt, vice president of customer security and trust, said in the report that the cyberattack landscape has become "increasingly sophisticated" with new levels of "supply chain and ransomware attacks."

Among the findings:

The undetected SolarWinds hack had a higher success rate this year at 32% in the year ending in June 30 compared to 21% in the previous 12 months.

While China had fewer attempts, it was successful 44% of the time.

The United States is the hardest hit by these hacks, accounting for 46% of all hacks. The majority of these were aimed toward government agencies.

Advertisement

State-backed hacking primarily covers intelligence gathering for national security or strategic advantage, and are tolerated by governments, ABC News reported.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held discussions that included cyberattacks. Putin said he was willing to exchange cybercriminals, while Biden urged Putin to take action against cybercriminals in Russia.

Latest Headlines