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Senator Wyden calls for FTC probe into Microsoft's alleged ransomware-related cybersecurity negligence

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U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has called for an FTC investigation into Microsoft's alleged cybersecurity negligence, which he claims enabled ransomware attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, including healthcare networks. The call follows a ransomware attack on Ascension, a healthcare system, which resulted in the theft of personal and medical information of nearly 5.6 million individuals. The attack was attributed to the Black Basta ransomware group and exploited insecure default settings in Microsoft software. The breach occurred in May 2024 when a contractor clicked on a malicious Bing Search result in Microsoft Edge, leading to a Kerberoasting attack. Attackers used Kerberoasting to extract encrypted service account credentials from Active Directory, leveraging the vulnerabilities in RC4. Wyden's letter to the FTC highlights Microsoft's continued support for RC4, an outdated encryption standard, and its failure to enforce secure password policies for privileged accounts. Microsoft has acknowledged the issues and plans to deprecate RC4 in future updates, but Wyden argues that these measures are insufficient to protect against ongoing threats.

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  1. 11.09.2025 17:51 2 articles · 18d ago

    Senator Wyden calls for FTC probe into Microsoft's alleged ransomware-related cybersecurity negligence

    The breach occurred in May 2024 when a contractor clicked on a malicious Bing Search result in Microsoft Edge, leading to a Kerberoasting attack. Attackers used Kerberoasting to extract encrypted service account credentials from Active Directory, leveraging the vulnerabilities in RC4. Wyden's letter to the FTC highlights Microsoft's continued support for RC4, an outdated encryption standard, and its failure to enforce secure password policies for privileged accounts. Microsoft has acknowledged the issues and plans to deprecate RC4 in future updates, but Wyden argues that these measures are insufficient to protect against ongoing threats. The article also details Senator Wyden's communications with Microsoft and the company's plans to address the security vulnerabilities. The article notes that Microsoft is gradually working to remove RC4 but faces challenges due to its integration with older systems. The FTC has not yet publicly responded to Wyden's request for an investigation.

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