In the wake of a devastating global IT outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update, Microsoft is taking proactive steps to address cybersecurity concerns. The tech giant has announced a significant Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit to be held on September 10th, 2024, at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Summit Objectives The primary goal of [...]
As Exchange Server 2016 approaches its end of extended support on October 14, 2025, organizations using Exchange Server 2019 will need to plan for decommissioning their 2016 environments. This guide outlines the key steps and considerations for removing Exchange 2016 from an environment that already has Exchange 2019 installed. Why Decommission Now? If you plan to [...]
Summary: The CrowdStrike outage on July 19, 2024, triggered a massive global IT disruption, affecting approximately 8.5 million Microsoft Windows systems worldwide. The incident, caused by a faulty configuration update to CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor security software, resulted in system crashes and boot failures across numerous industries and government services. The outage's impact was exacerbated by concurrent issues [...]
Microsoft 365 and Azure services experienced a significant global outage on July 30, 2024, affecting millions of users worldwide. Microsoft has confirmed that the nine-hour outage which disrupted multiple Microsoft 365 and Azure services worldwide, was caused by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The outage impacted critical services including Microsoft Entra, some Microsoft 365 and [...]
Follow this link for an updated and comprehensive analysis of the CrowdStrike Outage. A series of unprecedented IT outages has sent shockwaves through businesses and public services worldwide, highlighting the vulnerabilities of our interconnected digital systems. The disruptions stemmed from two separate incidents: a major Microsoft 365 service outage and a botched update of CrowdStrike's [...]
With the first half of 2024 behind us, it's clear that companies are continuing to prioritize cybersecurity projects to strengthen defenses and enhance operations. In this newsletter, I wanted to share exciting cybersecurity updates from Messageware, as well as important industry news. Z-Day Guard cybersecurity solution New Version Available: We are excited to announce that [...]
A sophisticated keylogger has been found embedded in the main login page of Microsoft Exchange Servers, stealing account credentials from unsuspecting users. The malicious code was discovered by Positive Technologies' Expert Security Centre (PT ESC) during an incident response operation. The keylogger records usernames and passwords entered on the Exchange login page and stores them [...]
Great news! Microsoft has announced exciting developments for the future of on-premises Exchange with the introduction of Exchange Server SE set to launch early in Q3 of 2025. This new subscription edition (SE) will arrive just as support for Exchange Server 2019 concludes on October 14, 2025. Administrators should note the tight timeline for transition [...]
Microsoft has released Hotfix Updates (HUs) that enable support for new functionality and address issues in the March 2024 Security Update (SU). The April 2024 HU is available for the following builds of Exchange Server: Exchange Server 2019 CU13 and CU14 Exchange Server 2016 CU23 New Features The April 2024 HU introduce support for elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) certificates and [...]
In the summer of 2023, Microsoft faced a major cybersecurity crisis when Chinese state-sponsored hackers managed to breach the email accounts of several U.S. government officials and organizations through Microsoft's Exchange Online software. The incident, which affected over 500 individuals and 22 organizations, has been described as a "cascade of security failures" by the U.S. [...]
If you're a Windows administrator, you might want to hold off on installing the latest March 2024 Windows Server updates. Widespread reports have surfaced of domain controllers crashing and restarting after applying these updates, causing headaches for IT professionals and disruptions for businesses. The Culprit: LSASS Memory Leak The root of the problem appears to [...]
Description of Security Update 5 for Exchange Server 2019: March 12, 2024 (KB5036402) The March 2024 SUs address vulnerabilities responsibly reported to Microsoft by security partners and found through Microsoft’s internal processes. Although we are not aware of any active exploits in the wild, our recommendation is to immediately install these updates to protect your [...]
Tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers worldwide could be vulnerable to a recently disclosed zero-day privilege escalation vulnerability that is already being actively exploited by threat actors. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-21410, allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to relay a user's Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM) credentials or "hashes" to impersonate legitimate users on [...]
2024 H1 Cumulative Update for Exchange Server Microsoft announced the availability of the 2024 H1 Cumulative Update (CU) for Exchange Server 2019 (aka CU14). CU14 includes fixes for customer reported issues, a security change, and all previously released Security Updates (SUs). FEATURED PRODUCT Z-Day Guard for Servers Next generation threat hunting for zero-day attacks on [...]
Feb 13, 2024, users connecting to Exchange Online with the latest version of Outlook Desktop are being impacted, as reported today by Petri and Windows Report news sites. The issue has been occurring since early February and is under investigation by Microsoft. The ActiveSync issues are specific to those with 365 Exchange Online, and those [...]
Advisory Release Microsoft released the advisory for CVE-2024-21410 on February 13, 2024, as part of their February 2024 Patch Tuesday security updates. The vulnerability was quickly added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on February 15, 2024, indicating confirmed exploitation in the wild and requiring federal agencies to take immediate remediation action. Follow this [...]
On January 19th, Microsoft disclosed that a group of Russian state-sponsored hackers, known as Nobelium or Midnight Blizzard, infiltrated its corporate systems and accessed sensitive emails from members of its leadership team. New details have now emerged explaining how the attackers gained entry and what they were after. The initial breach occurred in late November [...]
The global ransomware scourge is poised to worsen over the next two years, fueled by artificial intelligence that makes cyber attacks more effective, according to a new report from Britain's cybersecurity chiefs. The National Cyber Security Centre, part of the UK's top signals intelligence agency GCHQ, warns that AI will enable even novice hackers to [...]
Zero-day attacks represent one of the most significant threats to Microsoft Exchange Servers. This post aims to provide Exchange administrators and security professionals with strategies to prepare for and defend against these unpredictable threats. Microsoft Exchange Server, being a critical component in enterprise communication infrastructure, is a primary target for hackers. Through-out 2023 and into [...]
Microsoft kicks off 2024 with a uneventful Patch Tuesday, maintaining the trend from December by not releasing any patches for Exchange Server 2019. Exchange Server 2019: CU14 Delayed to Jan 2024 There are still two more CUs for Exchange Server 2019: CU14 and CU15. CU14 is in its final stages of testing and validation and will be [...]
