SolarWinds hackers have viewed Microsoft’s source code

Microsoft, one of the most prominent targets of the alleged Russian-linked hacking group behind the recent SolarWinds cyber intrusion, said on Thursday that spies were able to gain access to part of the company’s source code used to create software products,

The good news for the tech giant is that no damage has apparently been done according to the Seattle-based company.

“We detected unusual activity with a small number of internal accounts and upon examination, we found that an account had been used to view source code in a number of source code repositories,” Microsoft wrote Thursday in a report. update on hacking. “The account did not have the authority to change the code or the engineering systems and our investigation confirmed that no changes were made.”

Thousands of businesses and government agencies have been affected by the cyber-espionage operation, which inserted malicious code into Austin-based flagship Solarwinds software to scan corporate and government core networks.

US officials blamed Russia, but the Kremlin denied any involvement.

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The company said that in addition to its own code, its investigation “found no evidence of access to production services or customer data” and “also found no indication that our systems were used. to attack other people “.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

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Solarwinds said 18,000 customers were affected by the hack, including many Fortune 500 companies and many government agencies.

The massive operation was discovered earlier this month when cybersecurity firm FireEye revealed it had been hacked. FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia said the attack was “by a nation with world-class offensive capabilities.”

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“They are highly skilled in operational safety and executed with discipline and focus,” he wrote in a December 8 blog post.

“They operated clandestinely, using methods that thwart security tools and forensic examinations. They used a new combination of techniques that we or our partners have not seen in the past.”

Meanwhile, Solar Winds has been hit since news of the attack broke. In the past month, the company’s shares have fallen more than 34%. Additionally, Truist Securities and Baird both downgraded SolarWinds stock from buy to own, with both also predicting stock price targets to drop to around $ 15. The stock closed on New Years Eve at $ 14.85 a share.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.