Microsoft, however, did not specify what type of source code was accessed. (The Washington Post)“We detected unusual activity with a small number of internal accounts and upon review, we discovered one account had been used to view source code in a number of source code repositories,” the firm said in a blog post. Privately, U.S. officials say they believe the SVR, or Moscow’s foreign intelligence service, is behind the operation. “Having access to the source code gives the hackers the blueprint to how the software was created and makes it easier . “Hackers can always attempt to reverse engineer software vulnerabilities, but having the source code provides them with a short cut,” he said.

Source: Washington Post December 31, 2020 19:13 UTC