The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a warning about an uptick in cyber threats as Microsoft grapples with a global outage affecting its systems.
The agency has highlighted a surge in phishing attempts and other malicious activities exploiting the disruption.
Microsoft, led by Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, has been working diligently to address the ongoing outage impacting Windows 10 and later systems.
The company has clarified that the issue stems from a “CrowdStrike Falcon content update” and not from any malicious cyber activity.
Despite these assurances, the outage has provided an opportunity for threat actors to exploit the situation.
CISA has urged individuals to remain vigilant and avoid engaging with phishing emails or suspicious links, which could lead to email compromise and other scams.
In a statement, CISA emphasized the need for organizations to bolster their cybersecurity defenses to safeguard their users, assets, and data.
“Threat actors continue to leverage the widespread IT outage for phishing and other malicious activities. CISA urges organizations to ensure they have robust cybersecurity measures in place,” the agency stated.
In response to the outage, Satya Nadella reassured users via a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers with technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online.”
Yesterday, CrowdStrike released an update that began impacting IT systems globally. We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online.
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) July 19, 2024
A recent update from Microsoft indicates that the company is actively assisting customers in their recovery efforts.
CrowdStrike has identified and isolated the issue and deployed a fix.
As the situation evolves, both Microsoft and cybersecurity agencies are working together to mitigate the impact of the outage and ensure that affected systems are securely restored.
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