” “Microsoft’s Crusade Against Cybercrime: Exposing the Illegal Sale of Fraudulent Accounts to Infamous Hacking Groups”
Microsoft says it has successfully dismantled the infrastructure of a cybercrime operation that sold access to fraudulent Outlook accounts to other hackers, including the notorious Scattered Spider gang.
The group, tracked by Microsoft as “Storm-1152”, is described as a major player in the cybercrime as a service (CaaS) ecosystem, whereby criminals provide hacking and cybercrime services to other individuals or groups.
Storm-1152 created for sale approximately 750 million fraudulent Microsoft accounts through its “hotmailbox.me” service to earn “millions of dollars in illicit revenue” and cause “millions of dollars in damage to Microsoft,” according to the company.
Microsoft said it had identified several ransomware and extortion groups utilizing Storm-1162’s services, including Octo Tempest, better known as Scattered Spider.
Storm-1152 operated as a typical internet going-concern, providing training for its tools and even offering full customer support.
