{"id":28036,"date":"2026-09-24T06:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T06:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=28036"},"modified":"2026-09-24T06:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T06:07:21","slug":"microsoft-says-it-has-taken-down-ai-chatbot-built-for-cybercrime-that-hacked-12000-plus-emails-across-over-10000-organisations-globally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=28036","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft says it has taken down \u2018AI chatbot built for cybercrime\u2019 that hacked 12,000-plus emails across over 10,000 organisations globally"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134441486,imgsize-129446,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/microsoft.jpg\" alt=\"Microsoft says it has taken down \u2018AI chatbot built for cybercrime\u2019 that hacked 12,000-plus emails across over 10,000 organisations globally\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Microsoft has said that it has thwarted an effort to shut down a subscription-based scam platform that relied on an AI chatbot to break into more than 12,000 Microsoft accounts over the course of a few months.<!-- --> The platform, called EvilTokens, first surfaced on a Telegram channel back in February, charging users an initial fee of $1,500 followed by a recurring monthly charge of $500. EvilTokens essentially offered a one-stop service that streamlined nearly every step needed to compromise email accounts at scale. According to the company, once inside, the platform helped its customers sift through victims&#8217; inboxes, identify the most targets and even draft follow-up emails designed to trick employees into transferring funds into accounts controlled by the attackers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>\u201cIn short, AI was not simply helping attackers write more convincing messages. It helped them decide who to target, who to impersonate, and how to most effectively exploit the relationship to extract as much money as possible,\u201d the company said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Targets in several countries, including India<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft says that while it also attacked specific countries, its significance extends beyond its rapid growth and global reach.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>\u201cMicrosoft observed the highest concentrations of victim activity in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and France. Affected organizations ranged from wholesale distribution and construction to financial services, real estate, higher education, and healthcare. Working with partners, Microsoft seized 50 websites used to operate the service and disabled more than 150 additional domains tied to its supporting infrastructure.<!-- --> In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Police Service\u2019s cybercrime team arrested two men on suspicion of offenses connected with the alleged operation of EvilTokens,\u201d the company said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>How the scam actually worked<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>According to Microsoft, what set EvilTokens apart was the AI-style chatbot sitting at the heart of the operation. The chatbot could analyse a victim&#8217;s inbox and help criminals pinpoint trusted relationships, payment approval authority, sensitive job responsibilities and other circumstances where fraud was most likely to succeed. It could even go a step further, recommending specific fraud strategies and drafting messages impersonating trusted contacts to manipulate victims into taking action.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>The account compromises were carried out through a legitimate OAuth authentication process known as device code authentication. This method was originally designed for devices like smart TVs, essentially anything lacking a standard login interface. In this setup, the device being signed into displays a code, and the user is instructed to enter that code into a browser on a separate device, which then gets authenticated.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>EvilTokens gave its customers a platform capable of automating the mass sending of spam emails. Anyone who clicked on a malicious link or attachment inside these emails would be redirected to a webpage running a hidden automation script, which interacted in real time with the victim&#8217;s Microsoft identity provider to generate a device code that would enrol a device belonging to the attacker.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>The victim would then see this device code onscreen, along with instructions telling them to copy it and enter it into Microsoft&#8217;s official device login portal. Behind the scenes, complex backend operations allowed the hackers slip past traditional signature- or pattern-based security detection systems. This technique powered the entire attack chain, from generating dynamic device codes all the way through to actions taken after an account was compromised.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>Microsoft said EvilTokens marks a significant shift in how mass account compromises, and everything that follows them, now unfold.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/technology\/tech-news\/microsoft-says-it-has-taken-down-ai-chatbot-built-for-cybercrime-that-hacked-12000-plus-emails-across-over-10000-organisations-globally\/articleshow\/134441482.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft has said that it has thwarted an effort to shut down a subscription-based scam platform that relied on an AI chatbot to break into more than 12,000 Microsoft accounts over the course of a few months. The platform, called EvilTokens, first surfaced on a Telegram channel back in February, charging users an initial fee [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Microsoft has said that it has thwarted an effort to shut down a subscription-based scam platform that relied on an AI chatbot to break into more than 12,000 Microsoft accounts over the course of a few months. The platform, called EvilTokens, first surfaced on a Telegram channel back in February, charging users an initial fee [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":5,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/microsoft.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}