Microsoft says it is adopting a new strategy against cybercrime by focusing on the broader attack supply chain rather than individual services, and has targeted two widely used cybercrime tools, Amadey and StealC, after AI-assisted analysis showed they depend on shared infrastructure.
This action goes after the cybercrime “assembly line,” where coordinated tools drive ransomware, financial fraud, and disruptions to public services. Amadey and StealC are often used alongside each other: Amadey helps attackers gain access to devices, while StealC steals passwords and sensitive information. Together, they form a critical link in the chain, News.Az reports, citing Microsoft.
In the first two weeks of May alone, Amadey and StealC were linked to more than 140,000 infected computers globally, highlighting how widely they are used.
Working with Europol and industry partners, we targeted both tools at once. The goal: break the chain. Since the start of the operation, Microsoft has identified more than 18,000 victim computers, severed criminal control of those devices, and is working with telecommunications providers to help protect affected customers globally.
When multiple parts of an operation are disrupted together, attacks are harder to launch, scale, and recover from. The result: fewer disrupted services, fewer opportunities for cybercriminals to profit, and more friction when they try to rebuild. It’s no longer enough to go after threats one by one. We need to interrupt how the attacks are put together.
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