Microsoft Power Platform: Security Risks and Solutions
November 14, 2024
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On July 30, 2024, Microsoft suffered a major global outage that affected various services. The outage was caused by a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. Lasting approximately 10 hours, from 11:45 UTC to 19:43 UTC, the attack had a significant impact on a wide range of Microsoft platforms, leading to disruptions for numerous organizations worldwide.
The DDoS attack impacted multiple Microsoft services, including:
Notable sectors affected by the DDoS attack included banks, courts, and utility services. However, some services such as SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams, and Exchange Online remained accessible and responsive.
Microsoft disclosed that the initial cause was a DDoS attack on its systems. However, a flaw in the implementation of the Azure DDoS protection mechanisms exacerbated the impact of the DDoS attack instead of reducing it. This resulted in an unforeseen increase in usage, which caused Azure Front Door (AFD) and Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) components to perform below acceptable levels, leading to intermittent errors, timeouts, and latency spikes.
In response to the DDoS attack, Microsoft made networking configuration changes and implemented failovers to alternative networking paths. These actions significantly reduced the impact by 14:10 UTC. Subsequently, the company deployed an updated mitigation approach across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, and normal service levels were restored globally by 19:43 UTC.
Microsoft has experienced DDoS attacks before. In early June 2023, a similar incident was attributed to a group called Anonymous Sudan or Storm-1359. Security researcher Kevin Beaumont suggested that the recent DDoS attack involved the Meris botnet, which is composed mainly of compromised routers and switches.
Microsoft has confirmed that the outage was caused by a DDoS attack on its social media channels. They have promised to release a Preliminary Post Incident Review (PIR) within 72 hours, followed by a more detailed review within two weeks. This review is expected to offer more insights into the DDoS attack incident and the company’s response.
The July 2024 Microsoft outage underscores the vulnerability of even the most robust cloud infrastructures to sophisticated DDoS attacks. It highlights the critical importance of continually refining and testing DDoS protection measures, as well as the need for organizations to have contingency plans for service disruptions. As digital dependencies continue to grow, such incidents serve as a stark reminder of the potentially far-reaching impacts of cloud service outages on global operations across various sectors.
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