Hackers Used Microsoft Email Accounts to Steal Users’ Cryptocurrency, Report

In worsening news for users of Microsoft’s email services like Outlook, Hotmail and MSN, several cryptocurrency holders affected by a recent hack allege that the hackers responsible stole their crypto, as reported by Vice’s Motherboard on April 29.

One victim claimed on a Dutch tech forum to have lost just over 1 bitcoin (BTC), or almost $5,400 at press time, when hackers used his email account to reset his password and gain access to his Kraken account on March 31st. Several Reddit users attested to similar experiences.

According to Microsoft, the initial breach took place between January 1st and March 28th of this year, though according to others it may have extended for six months. Hackers initially reached consumer emails via a Microsoft support agent account.

Microsoft’s initial email statement to affected users assured them that hackers may have accessed email metadata like contacts, “but not the content of any e-mails or attachments.”

Two days later, however, reports surfaced that hackers had indeed been able to read email content.

Microsoft has yet to respond to the latest escalation of this security breach.

This comes just a week after an Independent Security Evaluators report on a “blockchain thief” who has stolen millions in ether by guessing weak private keys, as well as Coinbene’s continued denial of losing over $100 million to a hack in March.