Chinese hackers breached ConnectWise, spied on 2,250 firms
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 17:58 · Archive
Chinese state-aligned hackers breached IT management firm ConnectWise and used stolen credentials to access thousands of customer environments.
Chinese state-aligned hackers breached IT management and remote access company ConnectWise's cloud backup service, gaining access to credentials used to establish data links between the company and its customers. By stealing these application credentials, the hackers could log into customers' Microsoft-hosted environments as authorised users and access emails and other files.
Microsoft's security researchers say the hackers targeted around 2,250 organisations using AI agents to carry out the attacks. The hackers deployed ARTEX, an open-source AI framework, to attempt sign-ins at a rate of almost 3,000 per minute. According to Microsoft, this speed gave defenders 'little time to detect and respond'. In some environments, hackers gained privileged access in under three hours. The same AI software was reportedly used in a recent compromise of South Korea's financial systems.
ConnectWise paused access to its cloud backup system following the breach and said it was investigating. The company had begun working on restoring the service as of Thursday.
How it is being reported
- Chinese hackers spied on thousands of companies after breaching IT giant ConnectWiseMicrosoft points the blame for ConnectWise's breach at a China-aligned hacker, which relied on AI agents to rapidly hack into thousands of its customers.TechCrunch · 22 Oct, 17:47
- Microsoft says ConnectWise breach let Chinese spies loose on 2,250 cloud tenantsAI agents did the dirty work, with hackers gaining privileged access in some environments in under three hoursThe Register · 22 Oct, 12:28
In this story: ConnectWise · Microsoft · China · South Korea
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