Chinese hackers spied on thousands of companies after breaching IT giant ConnectWise
- Who
- Microsoft
- What
- reported China state-aligned hackers used AI agents to breach around 2,250 organizations through ConnectWise’s cloud backup service
- Quote
According to Microsoft, the hackers used AI agents to rapidly hack into around 2,250 organizations at a rate of almost 3,000 attempted sign-ins per minute.
What happened
China state-aligned hackers breached ConnectWise’s cloud backup service and stole application credentials to access customers’ Microsoft-hosted emails and files, according to Microsoft researchers. Microsoft said the hackers used AI agents, specifically the open-source ARTEX framework, to compromise around 2,250 organizations at almost 3,000 attempted sign-ins per minute. ConnectWise paused access to its cloud backup system and said Thursday it was investigating the breach and working to restore service.
Read next
See the full storyConnectWise Breach Exposed Customers’ Microsoft Emails and Files, Microsoft SaysThe story so far
China state-aligned hackers breached ConnectWise’s cloud backup service and stole application credentials to access customers’ Microsoft-hosted emails and files, according to Microsoft researchers. ConnectWise paused access to the backup system and said it was investigating the breach and working to restore service. Microsoft said the hackers used AI agents built on the open-source ARTEX framework to compromise around 2,250 organizations, making almost 3,000 attempted sign-ins per minute.
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