Lyce · Hybrid Watch
hw_6e98eb1ad58a501b
HP Enterprise discloses breach of cloud email by suspected Russian state-backed hackers “Cozy Bear / Midnight Blizzard”.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise told regulators that suspected Russian state-backed hackers from the SVR-linked group Cozy Bear (Midnight Blizzard) broke into its cloud-based email system and spent months quietly exfiltrating data. HPE said it was informed on 12 December 2023 that the actor had accessed its Microsoft 365 environment and later determined that email belonging to a limited number of employees—primarily in cybersecurity and go-to-market or business segments—had been compromised since around May 2023, alongside earlier theft of a small set of SharePoint files. The company emphasised that only a small percentage of mailboxes were affected and that it does not currently consider the incident “material” to its operations or finances, but the focus on security and strategic staff indicates an intelligence-gathering objective rather than disruption or ransomware-style extortion. Reporting noted that the same Russian group was simultaneously running a parallel campaign against Microsoft itself, targeting senior leadership and security/legal teams, which places the HPE breach within a broader pattern of long-term espionage operations against key U.S. technology providers whose platforms support government and critical-infrastructure customers.
E/M/R/S scores
- EExistence0/4 · Not assessed
- MIntent0/4 · Not assessed
- RRussian actor link0/4 · Not assessed
- SRussian state responsibility0/4 · Not assessed
Facts
No facts
Sources
-
- Role
- discovery_lead
- Date
- 2024-01-18T23:00:00Z
Hewlett Packard Enterprise told regulators that suspected Russian state-backed hackers from the SVR-linked group Cozy Bear (Midnight Blizzard) broke into its cloud-based email system and spent months quietly exfiltrating data. HPE said it was informed on 12 December 2023 that the actor had accessed its Microsoft 365 environment and later determined that email belonging to a limited number of employees—primarily in cybersecurity and go-to-market or business segments—had been compromised since around May 2023, alongside earlier theft of a small set of SharePoint files. The company emphasised that only a small percentage of mailboxes were affected and that it does not currently consider the incident “material” to its operations or finances, but the focus on security and strategic staff indicates an intelligence-gathering objective rather than disruption or ransomware-style extortion. Reporting noted that the same Russian group was simultaneously running a parallel campaign against Microsoft itself, targeting senior leadership and security/legal teams, which places the HPE breach within a broader pattern of long-term espionage operations against key U.S. technology providers whose platforms support government and critical-infrastructure customers.