(CNN) Microsoft has identified more than 40 of its customers around the world that had problematic versions of a third-party IT management program installed and that were specifically targeted by the suspected Russian hacking campaign disclosed this week, the company said in a blog post Thursday. "It's a certainty that the number and location of victims will keep growing," said Microsoft President Brad Smith, who added that the company has worked to notify the affected organizations. Microsoft's analysis represents the clearest and most specific assessment yet of the scope of the damage caused by the hacking campaign, which was secretly conducted through a third-party software program sold by SolarWinds, an IT management firm. The software that the suspected Russian malware was delivered with, SolarWinds Orion, has as many as 18,000 global customers, including government agencies, private companies and other organizations. Microsoft said Thursday that the attack "reached many major national capitals outside Russia."

Source: CNN December 18, 2020 01:46 UTC