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The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Microsoft server hack likely single actor, thousands of firms now vulnerable, researchers say
FILE PHOTO: A man looks at his phone as he passes by the Microsoft stand at the Mobile World Congress trade show, in Barcelona, Spain, March 3, 2025. REUTERS/ Bruna Casas/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -A global attack on Microsoft server software used by thousands of government agencies and businesses to share documents within organisations is likely the work of a single actor, a cybersecurity researcher said on Monday. Microsoft on Saturday issued an alert about "active attacks" on SharePoint servers used within organisations. It said that SharePoint Online in Microsoft 365, which is in the cloud, was not hit by the exploit, also known as a "zero day" because it was previously unknown to cybersecurity researchers. "Based on the consistency of the tradecraft seen across observed attacks, the campaign launched on Friday appears to be a single actor. However, it's possible that this will quickly change," Rafe Pilling, Director of Threat Intelligence at Sophos, a British cybersecurity firm. That tradecraft included the sending of the same digital payload to multiple targets, Pilling added. Microsoft said it had "provided security updates and encourages customers to install them," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. It was not clear who was behind the ongoing hack. The FBI said on Sunday it was aware of the attacks and was working closely with its federal and private-sector partners, but offered no other details. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Washington Post said unidentified actors in the past few days had exploited a flaw to launch an attack that targeted U.S. and international agencies and businesses. According to data from Shodan, a search engine that helps to identify internet-linked equipment, over 8,000 servers online could theoretically have already been compromised by hackers. Those servers include major industrial firms, banks, auditors, healthcare companies, and several U.S. state-level and international government entities. "The SharePoint incident appears to have created a broad level of compromise across a range of servers globally," said Daniel Card of British cybersecurity consultancy, PwnDefend. "Taking an assumed breach approach is wise, and it's also important to understand that just applying the patch isn't all that is required here." (Reporting by James Pearson, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Spain's grid operator blames power plants for blackout, disputes miscalculation
A view shows Santa Llogaia electrical sub-station connected to the interconnection grid between France and Spain that tripped after a sudden, large drop in power supply and caused the major blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, in the village of Santa Llogaia d'Alguema, near Figueres, Spain April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas/File Photo MADRID - Spanish grid operator Redeia blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. REE-owner Redeia's own investigation discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, operations chief Concha Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday. A combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected in the first seconds of the blackout when it should not have, while there was also an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network, she said. "Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout." Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, said in a statement on Tuesday it agreed that voltage control was the main cause of the outage, but said that, as system operator, Redeia was ultimately responsible for controlling voltage. The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage that caused gridlock in cities across the Iberian peninsula and left tens of thousands stranded on trains overnight or stuck in lifts. But Sanchez said the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout and that adding another gas plant to the system to absorb additional voltage would have made no difference. Redeia, which is partly state-owned, will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. Corredor said she had absolute faith in Redeia's calculations and that the operator had complied with all procedures and rules. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
18-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Spain's grid operator disputes miscalculation in blackout report
A view shows Santa Llogaia electrical sub-station connected to the interconnection grid between France and Spain that tripped after a sudden, large drop in power supply and caused the major blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, in the village of Santa Llogaia d'Alguema, near Figueres, Spain April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish grid operator Redeia disputed the findings of a government report that said failure by the operator to calculate the correct mix of energy was one of the factors that led to a massive blackout in Spain and Portugal on April 28. Redeia operations chief Concha Sanchez also told a news briefing on Wednesday its own investigation had discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, as well as an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network. Then, in the first seconds of the blackout, a combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected when it should not have, she said. "Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout." The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage. According to Redeia's Sanchez, the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout. Redeia will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. (Reporting by Pietro Lombardi, writing by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip)
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Spain's grid operator disputes miscalculation in blackout report
A view shows Santa Llogaia electrical sub-station connected to the interconnection grid between France and Spain that tripped after a sudden, large drop in power supply and caused the major blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, in the village of Santa Llogaia d'Alguema, near Figueres, Spain April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas/File Photo MADRID - Spanish grid operator Redeia disputed the findings of a government report that said failure by the operator to calculate the correct mix of energy was one of the factors that led to a massive blackout in Spain and Portugal on April 28. Redeia operations chief Concha Sanchez also told a news briefing on Wednesday its own investigation had discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, as well as an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network. Then, in the first seconds of the blackout, a combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected when it should not have, she said. "Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout." The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage. According to Redeia's Sanchez, the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout. Redeia will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
15-06-2025
- Straits Times
Protesters against overtourism take to the streets of southern Europe
A tourist walks on a banner that reads buses are for neighbors not for toursim, while anti-tourism activists across southern Europe team up to pressure authorities to take action against overcrowded cities as they prepare to participate in simultaneous large-scale protests across Spain, Portugal, and Italy on Sunday, in Barcelona, Spain, June 14, 2025. REUTERS/ Bruna Casas A tourist refuses to move as demonstrators holding a banner which reads \"recover Park Guell\" advance during a protest against mass tourism, in Barcelona, Spain June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas The V19 bus is overcrowded with toursits, while anti-tourism activists across southern Europe team up to pressure authorities to take action against overcrowded cities as they prepare to participate in simultaneous large-scale protests across Spain, Portugal, and Italy on Sunday, in Barcelona, Spain, June 13, 2025. REUTERS/ Bruna Casas Eva Vilaseca pushes the bicycle with her son Jan amidst crowds of tourists to the school inside Park Guell, while anti-tourism activists across southern Europe team up to pressure authorities to take action against overcrowded cities as they prepare to participate in simultaneous large-scale protests across Spain, Portugal, and Italy on Sunday, in Barcelona, Spain, June 13, 2025. REUTERS/ Bruna Casas People hold a banner which reads \"Decrease tourism now\" during a protest against mass tourism, in Barcelona, Spain June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Bruna Casas Protesters against overtourism take to the streets of southern Europe BARCELONA/MADRID - Thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe on Sunday to demonstrate against overtourism, firing water pistols at shop windows and setting off smoke in Barcelona, where the main protest took place. "Your holidays, my misery," protesters chanted in the streets of Barcelona while holding up banners emblazoned with slogans such as "mass tourism kills the city" and "their greed brings us ruin". Under the umbrella of the SET alliance - Sud d'Europa contra la Turistització, or Catalan for "Southern Europe against Overtourism" - protesters joined forces with groups in Portugal and Italy, arguing that uncontrolled tourism was sending housing prices soaring and forcing people out of their neighbourhoods. Barcelona, a city of 1.6 million, drew 26 million tourists last year. Authorities in the north eastern Spanish city said around 600 people joined the demonstration there, some firing water pistols or setting off coloured smoke and putting stickers saying 'Neighbourhood self-defence, tourist go home' on shop windows and hotels. Outside one hotel, an agitated worker confronted the protesters saying he was "only working" and was not the venue's owner. There were similar demonstrations in other parts of Spain including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian and Granada. Protests in Italy took place in cities including Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice, where locals oppose the construction of two hotels that will add around 15,000 new beds to the city, the organisers told Reuters. In Barcelona, the city government said last year it would bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 to make the city more liveable for residents. "I'm very tired of being a nuisance in my own city. The solution is to propose a radical decrease in the number of tourists in Barcelona and bet on another economic model that brings prosperity to the city," Eva Vilaseca, 38, told Reuters at Sunday's demonstration in Barcelona, dismissing the common counterargument that tourism brings jobs and prosperity. International travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11% to $838 billion this year, with Spain and France among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists. A protest in Lisbon was scheduled for later on Sunday afternoon. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
