For us, the seasons are constant: we know approximately when the seasons come and go, where winter ends and spring begins. But not in the cyber-world, as evidenced by a cyber-attack on Microsoft on March 8th by a group of Russian intelligence hackers dubbed “Midnight Blizzard” or “Nobelium.” Using a method known as “password-spraying” (a method of brute-force hacking by using the same password over numerous accounts), Midnight Blizzard attempted to breach Microsoft’s internal staff email accounts, hoping to compromise the systems of Microsoft’s services and systems. This isn’t the first snowstorm either; in January, Midnight Blizzard made its first attempt at breaching Microsoft using a similar method of using corporate data from internal email accounts to breach security. The sudden reappearance of Midnight Blizzard, and the implications of further attacks by the group, has sent chills to some cyber-security experts, especially to those who have already expressed safety concerns over Microsoft’s systems and services.

As you and I already know, we live in a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized, globalized, and technologically advanced day by day. Derivatives of the internet, ranging from spreadsheets to movie streaming to AI, are incredibly important: not just for work and for the functioning of society, but also for our daily lives. Internationally, the internet and other digital services work almost like a “universal language,” not only literally with translators or the facilitation of language teaching services, but also metaphorically due to the similarity of technology across all countries regardless of geography, culture, and ideology. A microwave in America will not differ much compared to a microwave in Iran, and a petroleum power plant in Japan will likely not differ much from a petroleum power plant in Mexico; thus, civilization is brought closer together by technology, whether they like it or not. Be it domestically or internationally, we rely on the internet and the technology associated with it.

Our dependence on such technology is what makes the attempted Microsoft breach concerning. As noted by Adam Meyers, a senior vice president of cyber-security firm Crowdstrike, “Microsoft hasn’t been able to get them [Midnight Blizzard/Nobelium] out in two months.” Even a huge company like Microsoft with numerous resources to combat hackers is having trouble, with the threat of yet another attack later in the year still in the frosty horizon. In the short term, the direct effects will likely not be anything major besides a noticeable drop in Microsoft’s stocks. However, the long-term implications show how vulnerable our information and technology on the internet (not just the USA, but to the world) are to malicious organizations, and as such, I’m sure that this attempted attack will cause businesses to invest in more cyber-security measures. Even though Microsoft fended off the attack reasonably well, the incident still serves a heavy reminder of what could be lost if cyber-attacks like these are more common or more successful around the world. Either way, the message is clear: “The cyber-world can flash-freeze at any time; firms must prepare or perish in the flippant climate of the cyber-world.”