Two men from Lincolnshire and Bracknell were recently arrested after scheming to gain unlawful entrance to Microsoft’s network. The men, aged 22 and 25, aimed to hack the network in effort to obtain customer data.
Microsoft noticed some red flags earlier this year, when the suspects repeatedly tried to intrude the Redmond giant’s networks. Despite the arrest being of just two hackers, the entire cybercriminal group is said to be large and continuously expanding.
Rob Bryant, a detective sergeant from Sercou’s Cyber Crime Unit, released a statement saying,
“This group is spread around the world and therefore the investigation is being coordinated with our various partners. We’ve made two arrests in the UK this morning and have seized a number of devices. We are still in the early stages of this investigation and will work with our partners to ensure that cyber criminals have no place to hide.”
Microsoft has also confirmed the failed hacking attempt; assuring their users that no information has been compromised. With the amount of cyber-security tools at their clearance – including their scheduled attainment of Hexadite – it’s no surprise that Microsoft has dissatisfied these attempts.
Back in January, Microsoft also released a statement claiming that their annual investment for cyber security is over $1 billion. In response to the recent hacking attempt, Microsoft’s vice president (Tom Burt) has released another statement.
“Today’s action by authorities in the UK represents an important step. Stronger internet security depends on the ability to identify and prosecute cybercriminals.
This requires not only a strong technical capability, but the willingness to acknowledge issues publicly and refer them to law enforcement. No company is immune from cybercrime. No customer data was accessed, and we’re confident in the integrity of our software and systems.
We have comprehensive measures in place to prevent, detect, and respond to attacks. We also have specialist teams focused on working with law enforcement to identify people who attack either us or our customers, and we’re committed to fast and effective action against attackers.”