Skip to content
NewA calmer, faster ZeroHour
Phishing & fraudhighExploited in the wild

Attackers Use Passkey Phishing to Hijack Microsoft Cloud Accounts and Exfiltrate Data

The Hacker News ()5 min read3
AI summary · glm-5.3Summaries by Vani AI

Microsoft details two campaigns: million-email CEO impersonation ACH fraud and passkey-themed vishing that hijacks Microsoft cloud accounts for data theft and extortion.

Microsoft disclosed a campaign that sent over one million CEO-impersonation scam emails between August 3-5, 2026, targeting U.S. accounts payable departments with fake ServiceNow subscription invoices to induce ACH transfers, using generative AI to tailor templates. A second campaign detected since May 2026 uses passkey/MFA-themed voice phishing posing as the IT help desk, redirecting victims via SMS to counterfeit Microsoft sign-in pages and adversary-in-the-middle or device-code flows to hijack accounts. Post-compromise activity includes adding attacker-controlled authentication methods, high-volume Microsoft Graph activity, SharePoint and OneDrive downloads, and mailbox collection via REST APIs. Microsoft attributes initial access to Storm-3121 (linked to ShinyHunters and Falcon extortion) and Storm-3032 (UNC6671, a BlackFile splinter operating the Helix extortion brand).

Key facts
  • Over 1 million CEO-impersonation scam emails sent August 3-5, 2026 seeking fraudulent ACH payments
  • Passkey-themed vishing via fake IT help desk leads to AitM and device-code account takeover
  • Post-compromise: Microsoft Graph, SharePoint, OneDrive, and mailbox collection via REST APIs
  • Attributed to Storm-3121 (ShinyHunters/Falcon) and Storm-3032/UNC6671 (Helix extortion brand)
  • Attackers leveraged generative AI to craft tailored email templates and forged email threads
Analyze this story with Vani AIImpact, who is affected and what defenders should do, in a new chat

Indicators of compromise

auto-extracted · verify before use · export allAll
TypeIndicatorContext
domainadd-passkey.comkeyhelpdesk[.]com secure-passkey[.]com setupmypasskey[.]com add-passkey[.]com integratedsso[.]com oktasession[.]com syncmykey[.]com por
domaindomainlify.netof the registered domains are below - service-nowinc[.]com domainlify[.]net Passkey-Themed Social Engineering Leads to Cloud Compromi
domainintegratedsso.comsecure-passkey[.]com setupmypasskey[.]com add-passkey[.]com integratedsso[.]com oktasession[.]com syncmykey[.]com portalsetuphub[.]com It
domainoktasession.comsetupmypasskey[.]com add-passkey[.]com integratedsso[.]com oktasession[.]com syncmykey[.]com portalsetuphub[.]com It's worth noting th
domainpasskeyhelpdesk.comin the pattern: "<company name>.<malicious domain>[.]com" - passkeyhelpdesk[.]com secure-passkey[.]com setupmypasskey[.]com add-passkey[.]c
domainportalsetuphub.com.]com integratedsso[.]com oktasession[.]com syncmykey[.]com portalsetuphub[.]com It's worth noting that this modus operandi overlaps with
domainsecure-passkey.comany name>.<malicious domain>[.]com" - passkeyhelpdesk[.]com secure-passkey[.]com setupmypasskey[.]com add-passkey[.]com integratedsso[.]co
domainservice-nowinc.comand individuals. Some of the registered domains are below - service-nowinc[.]com domainlify[.]net Passkey-Themed Social Engineering Leads
domainsetupmypasskey.comdomain>[.]com" - passkeyhelpdesk[.]com secure-passkey[.]com setupmypasskey[.]com add-passkey[.]com integratedsso[.]com oktasession[.]com s
domainsyncmykey.comcom add-passkey[.]com integratedsso[.]com oktasession[.]com syncmykey[.]com portalsetuphub[.]com It's worth noting that this modus op

From the original article

5 min read at thehackernews.com

Microsoft has disclosed details of two campaigns in which threat actors are abusing third-party email delivery infrastructure to blast financial fraud scam messages and using passkey-themed social engineering to breach cloud environments. The first campaign, per the tech giant, involved sending over a million scam emails between August 3 and 5, 2026, by masquerading as chief executive officers

The Hacker News

thehackernews.com

Read the full article at The Hacker News

A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.