Up to 60,000 computer systems exposed to Microsoft flaw in Germany: BSI

The head of Microsoft Corp’s cybersecurity watchdog said on Wednesday that as many as 60,000 computer systems in Germany were exposed to a flaw that allows unauthorized users to access systems in its email software.

BSI chief Arne Schoenbohm said that more than half of the vulnerabilities were noticed after a warning was sent by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) last weekend, but around 25,000 systems still need to be fixed.

“The warning has worked, in Germany, many Exchange servers have been secured by downloading patches,” Schoenbohm said in written comments to Reuters. “Every vulnerable system is one too many and can lead to harm.”

The flaw appears to have been taken advantage of by hackers and has affected more than 20,000 U.S. organizations. The European Union’s banking regulator and the Norwegian parliament have crashed.

The behavior of hackers exploiting Microsoft’s vulnerability had changed sharply since it was publicly revealed, the BSI said, in a 14-page report on the Microsoft vulnerability.

In the beginning, most targets were think tanks, universities, non-governmental organizations, law firms, and defense companies – mostly in the United States. But now these exploits are deployed against thousands of targets worldwide, the report said.

According to researchers at cybersecurity company ESET,  the latest flaw in Microsoft’s mail server software was used by at least 10 different hacking groups to break into targets around the world.

In Germany, two federal authorities have been affected by the hack, the BSI said, declining to say which.

The BSI said it is in contact with around 100 companies ranging from small businesses to leading companies seeking guidance, well above the usual number since the weekend.

“We are in touch with all Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT) in Europa and abroad, especially the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the United States,” the BSI said, adding it was also in close contact with Microsoft.