Microsoft has delivered over 13,000 nation state notifications (NSN) over the past two years, most originating in Russia.
"When a customer (organization or individual account holder) is targeted or compromised by nation state activities that Microsoft tracks, we deliver a nation state notification to the customer. Over the past two years, Microsoft has delivered over 13,000 NSNs. The highest percentage of NSNs represented activity originating in Russia, followed by Iran, China, North Korea, and other countries," according to a Microsoft Digital Defense Report dated September 2020.
Read alsoRFE/RL: U.S. releases cybersecurity advisory on new 'Drovorub' Russian malwareRussian hackers: Background
Russian hackers have been widely accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In particular, Russians had successfully gained access to voter lists in several U.S. states ahead of ballot day.
Microsoft said a Russian-linked hacker group, previously accused of hacking into DNC mail servers, was responsible for the attacks on the Windows operating system.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the UN Security Council called on Russia to stop cyber attacks aimed at destabilizing other countries.
In August 2020, U.S. intelligence agencies warned about previously undisclosed Russian "Drovorub" malware.
