People affected by the recent Microsoft email breach report that the hackers are using that access to empty their cryptocurrency accounts.
On April 13th, Microsoft confirmed to TechCrunch that its web email services (Outlook, MSN, and Hotmail) were compromised by a security breach.
The software giant initially reported that the hack, which occurred between January 1st and March 28th, only affected folder names, email subject lines, victims’ email address, and the email addresses of those the victims corresponded with.
Microsoft was quite clear in that the hack did not affect “the content of any e-mails or attachments.” It was wrong.
Hack more serious than reported
Motherboard has now reported that the breach of security did more than just steal metadata; it actually compromised the content of emails.
Multiple victims have come forward to report that, as a result of the hack, their cryptocurrency accounts are being emptied.
One such victim is Jevon Ritmeester, who had just over 1 bitcoin stolen out of his Kraken account by the hackers.
“The hackers also had access to my inbox allowing them to password reset my Kraken.com account and withdrawal [sic] my Bitcoin,” Ritmeester said.
Digging through his trash folder, he found emails sent from the hackers to Kraken asking for his account password to be reset and a request to withdraw Bitcoin.
This happened after the hackers set up a line in his Outlook account that would automatically forward any email containing the word “Kraken” to a Gmail account under their control. The “Kraken” emails in Ritmeester’s account would then be deleted, thus ensuring he was unaware of what was going on.
Microsoft appears indifferent
Ritmeester is not alone in his cryptocurrency woes. Other victims have come forward, detailing that their cryptocurrency has been stolen too due to the breach of security.
“My account was hacked as a direct result of this. Lost 25,000 in crypto. Hackers didn’t have my credentials they just had access to the content of my emails. Didn’t need passwords. Just put in password change requests. Verified the email confirmation links. Any confirmation they needed they had access to,” said Reddit user shinratechlabs.
“Same exact for me only a lot less funds stolen, sucks. I’d like to know what date you were hacked? I gave many warnings to Microsoft (with ample proof) for nearly two months there was something major going on, and was ignored. Complete ignorance on their part. Will be posting a lot more about it, “ added Reddit user mickey_ficke.
The only response given by Microsoft concerning the stolen cryptocurrency is a statement that says, “Customers who believe they have been impacted beyond what was outlined in the company’s notification should contact the Microsoft support team for assistance.”
Ritmeester notes that only the final email he received from Microsoft informed him that the contents of his emails had been compromised. “I feel Microsoft is trying to cover up and is not taking this seriously.”