Chinese hackers spied on thousands of companies after ConnectWise breach
Stolen credentials gave attackers access to customers' Microsoft-hosted emails and files.
Policy#04
2,250
organizations hacked by AI-driven attackers
Image: TechCrunch
2,250organizations hacked by AI-driven attackers
The short version
- Microsoft says China state-aligned hackers broke into ConnectWise's cloud backup service and stole application credentials.
- The stolen credentials let the hackers log in to customer environments as authorized users.
- Microsoft says the hackers used AI agents to hit around 2,250 organizations at almost 3,000 attempted sign-ins per minute.
- ConnectWise paused access to its cloud backup system and is investigating, and said it was working on restoring the service.
Why it matters
The attack used ARTEX, an open source AI framework that works with AI models to stress-test cyber defenses. Microsoft said the speed gives defenders little time to detect and respond, which shows how AI agents can scale intrusions.
“By stealing the credentials, the hackers could log in to the customer’s Microsoft-hosted environment as if they were an authorized user and access their emails and other files.”