Description
In a move that is sure to shake up the cybersecurity world, Microsoft has announced a new taxonomy of names for hackers. Instead of referring to them by their previous nicknames, Microsoft will now give them names based on weather events like storms, typhoons, and blizzards. This new system will include eight pools in total, with nation-state players named after specific weather events to indicate where the pools operate from. For example, Chinese hackers will be called Typhoon, while Russian hackers will now be known as Blizzard. china - typhoon
Iran - Sandstorm
Lebanon - Rain
North Korea - Slush
Russia - Blizzard
South Korea - Hail
Turkiye - Powder
Vietnam - Cyclone
Financially motivated hacking groups will be called storm, offensive private sector actors will be called tsunami, and influence operations will be called floods. Microsoft will also assign temporary names like Storm and a four-digit number to any new threat that is unknown or comes from an unknown source.
While some may find these weather-themed names a bit whimsical, Microsoft sees them as a way to make cybersecurity more accessible and easy to understand for everyone. John Lambert, CVP of Threat Intelligence at Microsoft, said, "The naming approach we used previously has been retired. We have reassigned all existing threat actors to the new taxonomy and will use the new threat actor names in the future." threats".
The move is not without controversy, however, as some experts have criticized Microsoft for potentially trivializing the severity of cyberattacks. But for now, we'll just have to wait and see if these weather-related names catch on in the cybersecurity world.
