Reportedly, Microsoft had suffered a data breach in 2013 when a highly-skilled hacking group by various names including Morpho, Butterfly and Wile Neutron, who exploited a Java Zero-Day vulnerability to hack into Apple Mac computers of the Microsoft employees.
When Microsoft discovered the compromised database in earlier 2013, an alarm spread inside the company. With such a database in hands, the so-called highly sophisticated hacking group could have developed zero-day exploits and other hacking tools to target systems worldwide.
There's no better example than WannaCry ransomware attack to explain what a single zero-day vulnerability can do.
Following the concerns that hackers were using stolen vulnerabilities to conduct new attacks, the tech giant conducted a study to compare the timing of breaches with when the bugs had entered the database and when they were patched.
On being contacted, Microsoft declined to speak about the incident, beyond saying: "Our security teams actively monitor cyber threats to help us prioritize and take appropriate action to keep customers protected."
via: TheHackerNews
