Hackers are racing to take advantage of unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers

While Microsoft has rolled out emergency patches to address vulnerabilities on its Exchange server software, many systems remain unpatched. Attackers are now increasingly going after unpatched systems. A strain of ransomware called DearCry is being utilized by attackers to target unpatched on-premises Exchange servers (via ZDNet).

Microsoft has detected and is now blocking the new family of ransomware, but it's still vital for organizations to patch their servers and take other security measures.

The Microsoft Security Intelligence Twitter account discussed the ransomware recently. A subsequent Tweet explains that Microsoft Defender customers utilizing automatic updates don't need to take any additional action.

According to Check Point Research (CPR), threat actors are increasing their attacks on vulnerable servers. Over 24 hours, CPR saw exploitation attempts on organizations double every 2-3 hours.

CPR states in its blog:

Since the recently disclosed vulnerabilities on Microsoft Exchange Servers, a full race has started amongst hackers and security professionals. Global experts are using massive preventative efforts to combat hackers who are working day-in and day-out to produce an exploit that can successfully leverage the remote code execution vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange.

CPR explains that if an attacker manages to utilize unpatched vulnerabilities, they can obtain corporate emails and place damaging code within organizations.