In the complex landscape of cybersecurity, the shadow of nation-state hacking looms large. Recently, the world witnessed a significant breach as Microsoft announced a large-scale attack by Midnight Blizzard, a group of Russian government-backed hackers. The repercussions of this attack have far-reaching consequences and call into question the ability of Microsoft to protect not only their customers’ email security, but their own executives.  

Midnight Blizzard was able to gain unprecedented access to Microsoft’s corporate network. The initial shockwaves were felt as they ransacked the email systems, setting the stage for a larger operation. Microsoft’s revelation that the hackers accessed source code repositories and internal systems sent ripples across the cybersecurity community and the inherent trust in Microsoft’s security was shaken. 

Implications Beyond Microsoft 

This intrusion is not confined to Microsoft; it ripples out to anyone using their solutions. The compromised source code potentially affects millions of customers worldwide. So, what can organizations do in the wake of such attacks? It is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ a breach will occur. 

As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, organizations must take a layered approach to their cybersecurity posture by augmenting their legacy systems with additional security measures. 

So, What Next? 

Cofense is the only email security solution that sees and stops phishing threats that are missed by all standard Secure Email Gateways (SEGs), like Microsoft Defender 365, providing that additional layer of protection against advanced phishing threats. 

Cofense email security offers two complementary solution-based products – Cofense PhishMe and the Cofense Phishing Detection and Response Platform (PDR). 

• Cofense PhishMe Simulation Awareness Training quickly teaches employees to recognize and report real phishing attacks to keep your organization safe. Security awareness training (SAT) has proven time and time again to be the best first line of defense against email threats. Cofense PhishMe is the SAT pioneer that has trained employees at some of the world’s largest companies for many years. As a result, we have more than 35 million Cofense-trained employees from our customers’ companies located around the globe, all enabled to actively detect and report suspected phishing threats.
• The Cofense Phishing Detection and Response Platform (PDR) processes thousands of reported malicious threats daily. These threats, all missed by first-line security defenses (SEGs), are ingested and analyzed by the PDR Platform. If a reported threat is identified as malicious, Cofense PDR promptly quarantines the threat from that customer’s email system and then automatically removes the same threat from all of our other customers’ email systems.

For over a decade, many of the world’s most recognizable brands trust Cofense due to our unique products that help our customers identify, detect, and eradicate today’s most sophisticated phishing threats.

Want to learn more about how Cofense can help augment your legacy email security solution and keep your organization out of the headlines? Contact us here.