Microsoft may have been hit by the same hackers who went after NVIDIA

What you need to know

• Hacking group Lapsus$ claims that it has gained access to Microsoft's internal systems, according to a recent report.
• Lapsus$ often steals data from large corporations and demands ransom or that specific conditions be met.
• NVIDIA's DLSS source code was leaked by Lapsus$ earlier this month.
• No public demands have been made to Microsoft by Lapsus$ at this point.

Well-known hacking group Lapsus$ claimed that it gained access to Microsoft's internal systems, according to a report by Motherboard. Lapsus$ has stolen data from NVIDIA, Samsung, and other companies in the past. The hacking group often demands ransom payments from the large corporations that it infiltrates. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that it is looking into the claim in a statement to Motherboard.

Lapsus$ differs from other hacking groups in several ways. The group does not use ransomware. Instead, it steals data and then blackmails its targets. Lapsus$ also makes unique demands to the organizations it goes after. It threatened to, and later did, release NVIDIA's DLSS source code after demanding that the company remove mining performance limits on its RTX 30-series graphics cards.

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Lapsus$ shared a screenshot of an internal Microsoft developer account, according to Motherboard. The information was posted on Lapsus$'s Telegram channel and then removed. "Deleted for now will repost later," said Lapsus$ of the screenshot.

The image showed references to "Bing_UX," "Bing-Source," and "Cortana." It also lists "mscomdev," "microsoft," and "msblox."

Motherboard highlights that Lapsus$ was looking for Microsoft employees and insiders to share information earlier this month. "TO NOTE: WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR DATA, WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE EMPLOYEE TO PROVIDE US A VPN OR CITRIX TO THE NETWORK, or some anydesk," said Lapsus$ in a message.

No demands to Microsoft from Lapsus$ have been spotted at this time.