Microsoft sends data breach warnings to users of Hotmail, MSN and Outlook

Microsoft has issued data breach warnings to 6% users of its mailing services like Hotmail, MSN, and Outlook. The tech giant warned the users to be vigilant and admitted that some user accounts have been compromised. The breach took place for a period of three months between January 1 and March 28 and came into notice of the company after a customer support agent credentials were compromised.

As of now, Microsoft has sent notification emails to the users who are affected by the data breach and said that the hackers responsible for this breach have the ability to access information like email address, contacts of the users, and subject lines.

In the notification issued by Microsoft, they assured that the attackers couldn’t view the data of actual emails or attachments. But after the discovery of the breach, a tech news site Motherboard, reported with evidence, that the breach is in fact much more extensive than what Microsoft actually claimed. Microsoft then later revised their original statement and said that the hackers could also access the text of users messages and all of their attachments.

Motherboard mentioned, that a source who actually witnessed the attack in action told the tech site that hackers were able to access all email accounts apart from corporate level accounts. The source also said that the attackers were also able to see the user’s calendar and birth date.