MSFT Microsoft Corporation

By WSJ City 

Cyberattacks linked to Iranian hackers have targeted thousands of people at more than 200 companies over the past two years, Microsoft said, part of a wave of computer intrusions from the country that researchers say has hit businesses and government entities around the globe.

KEY FACTS

Microsoft said:

--- The campaign, the scope of which hadn't previously been reported, stole corporate secrets and wiped data.

--- It caused damages estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity.

--- It affected oil-and-gas companies, heavy-machinery manufacturers and international conglomerates.

--- Countries hit included Saudi Arabia, Germany, the UK, India and the US.

--- Microsoft deployed incident-response teams to some of the affected companies.

Iranian Denial

Iran "denies any involvement in cyber crimes against any nation," said a spokesman for Iran's mission to the United Nations in an email. He called the cybersecurity research by Microsoft and other companies "essentially ads, not independent or academic studies," that should not be taken at face value.

Why This Matters

While American and European companies have been hit, security researchers say the attacks from Iran have focused heavily on the Middle East.But they say Iran's growing cyber strength poses a potential threat to the US at a time of intensified tension between the two countries.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 07, 2019 04:42 ET (09:42 GMT)

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