European Banking Authority hit by Microsoft Exchange hack

In a global Microsoft Exchange cyber-attack, the European Banking Authority’s email servers were hacked.

Personal data may have been accessed from the EU body’s servers, according to the EU body. It had also taken down its entire email system while it assessed the damage.

“The EBA is working to identify what, if any, data was accessed,” it said.

Large corporations and governments use Microsoft Exchange servers for email. However, only a few organizations have admitted to being harmed by the attack.

The cyber-attack used stolen passwords or abused a loophole in Microsoft’s Exchange email system to impersonate someone who should have access to the system, according to Microsoft.

It will then remotely take control of the email server and steal data from the network.

The assault remained a “active threat,” according to US officials over the weekend.

“Everyone running these servers – government, private sector, academia – needs to act now to patch them,” White House press secretary Jan Psaki said.

Microsoft believes a Chinese state-sponsored attacker called Hafnium is behind the hack.

But China denies any involvement.

According to the US National Security Council, businesses that have been compromised must take further measures, and all organizations can determine if they have been affected.