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Data Breaches & Leaks BleepingComputer 2 weeks ago

Microsoft’s X account hacked in crypto pump-and-dump scheme

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CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: BleepingComputer
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Enterprise Perimeter & Network Defense
Intelligence Sector
Data Breaches & Leaks

Analyst Takeaway

"On Thursday, unknown attackers hijacked the official Microsoft account on X, which has over 13 million followers, in what appeared to be a pump-and-dump scheme promoting a crypto token. The attack began when the Microsoft account (@Microsoft) followed and reposted a tweet from another now-suspended X account (@clippymsftcto) impersonating Microsoft's Clippy virtual assistant, The Verge first..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Threat Monitoring: Ingest published IOCs into SIEM/EDR detection rules for continuous telemetry monitoring.
  • Security Awareness: Alert staff and maintain baseline endpoint hardening across endpoints.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)

Microsoft X

On Thursday, unknown attackers hijacked the official Microsoft account on X, which has over 13 million followers, in what appeared to be a pump-and-dump scheme promoting a crypto token.

The attack began when the Microsoft account (@Microsoft) followed and reposted a tweet from another now-suspended X account (@clippymsftcto) impersonating Microsoft's Clippy virtual assistant, The Verge first reported.

While @clippymsftcto has been suspended, another X account (@ClippyMSFT) that reposted Microsoft's tweet is still promoting a $Clippy crypto token, claiming that it has "has a liquidity pool paired directly with $MSFT."

Microsoft has since removed the attackers' posts and confirmed the incident, saying it's investigating the circumstances.

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Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from BleepingComputer.

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