As AI and digital technologies advance, the European cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, presenting new challenges that require stronger partnerships and enhanced solutions. Ransomware groups and state-sponsored actors from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea continue to grow in scope and sophistication, and European cyber protection cannot afford to stand still.
That is why, today, in Berlin, we are announcing a new Microsoft initiative to expand our longstanding work to help defend Europe’s cybersecurity. Implementing one of the five European Digital Commitments I shared in Brussels five weeks ago, we are launching a new European Security Program that adds to the company’s longstanding global Government Security Program.
This new program expands the geographic reach of our existing work and adds new elements that will become critical to Europe’s protection. It puts AI at the center of our work as a tool to protect traditional cybersecurity needs and strengthens our protection of digital and AI infrastructure.
We are launching the European Security Program with three new elements:
It’s not every day that you discover a new Russian hacking group complete with a song and dance routine (performed live), a sleek user interface (with dark mode!) and a clearly thought-out business model. But that is exactly what our security research team discovered with “AlphaLock,” a “pentesting training organization” that trains hackers and then monetizes their services through a dedicated affiliate program.
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We originally discovered their group through a public Telegram channel that has since become private. This post will serve as a detailed investigation and description of one of the most brazen, strange, and best marketed cybercrime groups to appear in 2023.