Microsoft is facing another potential data breach as the Medusa ransomware gang claims to have released a massive leak of internal Microsoft materials online, including the source code for Bing and Cortana. This leak could pose a significant threat to the software giant, as it could provide miscreants with the ability to develop malware using the same level of trust as the original Microsoft products.
The Medusa ransomware gang posted the leak on its website, which was screenshotted and shared by Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow. The leak includes the source codes of Bing Maps and Cortana, among others, and contains many digital signatures of Microsoft products, many of which have not been recalled. The gang claims that viewing the source code will not lead to the elevation of risk, and that software will have the same level of trust as the original Microsoft product.
#Medusa is sharing what is claimed to be "source codes of the following Bing products, Bing Maps and Cortana." The leak is ~12GB and likely part of the ~37GB leaked by Lapsus in 2022. #Microsoft 1/2 pic.twitter.com/VpofBJGEcM
— Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) April 19, 2023
However, it is unclear whether the files are legitimate, and Microsoft has not yet responded to requests for comment. Ransomware gangs are not always the most trustworthy sources of information, and it is unknown whether there is any connection between Medusa and Lapsus$, another group that claimed to have broken into Microsoft's internal DevOps environment in March 2022 and stole and leaked around 37GB of information, including Bing and Cortana's internal source code.
Microsoft later confirmed that Lapsus$ had compromised its systems but insisted that no customer code or data was involved in the observed activities. Microsoft does not rely on the secrecy of code as a security measure, and viewing source code does not lead to the elevation of risk.
The leak, which is around 12GB, is believed by some, including Callow, to be part of the larger Lapsus$ leak from last year. The Lapsus$ hack occurred when the hacking group claimed to have stolen 32GB of data from an internal Microsoft Azure DevOps server, including source code from a range of Bing-related products such as Bing Maps and Cortana.
While Microsoft has downplayed the Lapsus$ leak and maintains that the viewing of source code does not lead to an elevation of risk, the potential release of the source code of its products could provide miscreants with the ability to develop malware and other threats. The company will need to take swift action to investigate the claims and ensure that its systems and products are secure.
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