A China state-aligned hacking group compromised IT services firm ConnectWise using an AI-driven penetration testing tool, targeting hundreds of organisations worldwide, Microsoft reported on Wednesday.
Microsoft’s analysis, along with evidence reviewed by ConnectWise, indicates that the group was behind an attack on ConnectWise Cloud Backup, according to a separate statement from the company’s CEO, Manny Rivelo.
Rivelo said ConnectWise had contained the affected application connections and was restoring services in controlled phases. However, he warned that these measures would not automatically eliminate unauthorised access that might already exist within individual customer tenants. Those environments would require separate reviews.
Microsoft tracks the hacking group as Storm-0940. According to the company, the group used an open-source penetration testing framework called ARTEX to conduct the widespread campaign.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Reuters
