Storm-0940 abuses ARTEX AI agents and stolen ConnectWise Cloud Backup app credentials to hit 2,250+ Microsoft 365 tenants

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1. darkreading.com ↗ · pub. 22/10/2026 17:42 · coletado 22/10 20:00 só resumo do feed

   Microsoft links China-linked Storm-0940 to ConnectWise supply chain attack on 2,200+ tenants using AI-enabled pentest tool

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   Microsoft has attributed a supply chain attack involving ConnectWise to Storm-0940, a China-linked actor. According to the report, the actor used an AI-enabled penetration-testing tool to automate and accelerate the attack, which targeted more than 2,200 tenants. The article excerpt provides no further detail on the intrusion method, the affected ConnectWise products, or the impact on victims.

   Technical Details

   • Attribution: Storm-0940 (Microsoft designation), described as China-linked.
   • Tooling: an AI-enabled penetration-testing tool used to automate and speed up the attack (the specific tool is not named in the available text).
   • Scale: more than 2,200 tenants.
   • No CVEs, IOCs or specific ATT&CK techniques are stated in the available text.
2. securityaffairs.com ↗ · pub. 22/10/2026 17:47 · coletado 22/10 20:00

   Storm-0940 uses AI pentesting tool ARTEX to hit 2,250 M365 tenants via ConnectWise Cloud Backup supply chain compromise

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   Microsoft attributes the recent ConnectWise Cloud Backup supply chain compromise of a multi-tenant application to Storm-0940, a China state-aligned group active since 2021. The actor used ARTEX, an AI-driven penetration testing framework, to run attacks at machine speed against organizations in aerospace, defense, energy, financial services, government and manufacturing. In several cases the time from initial targeting to privileged cloud access was under 3 hours. The article reports that about 2,250 Microsoft 365 tenants were targeted at up to 2,900 sign-in attempts per minute.

   Technical Details

   • Between October 10 and 14, Storm-0940 ran a password spraying campaign from 144.172.64[.]99: more than 151,000 failed logins against 327 accounts at eight organizations, peaking at 2,900 failed attempts per minute on October 11. Forty-eight accounts received over 1,000 attempts each. None succeeded.
   • On October 15, one day after the ConnectWise breach became public, the AI agents stopped spraying. They used stolen credentials of several ConnectWise cloud application accounts to log into customer Microsoft 365 environments through applications that already had access, with no interactive user sign-in.
   • In a subset of environments the agents ran directory reconnaissance via Microsoft Graph, modified application credentials for persistence, and attempted changes to identities, groups and privileged roles.
   • Credentials added to trusted applications can remain active as a backdoor even after the compromised application is remediated.
   • ARTEX is written in Go, can use different AI models, and was originally open source; the project later went closed-source, but existing copies remain usable. Threat actors in several regions use it. Zscaler and Recorded Future reported a Chinese-speaking group using it against South Korean financial institutions, with DeepSeek, GLM and Grok as coordinated agents.

   Remediation

   • Review all service principal and application credential additions since at least October 1, not only since October 15.
   • Revoke or rotate any credentials added by unknown parties, even if the ConnectWise connections are already disabled.
   • Audit Microsoft Graph activity, and changes to identities, groups and privileged roles, in affected tenants.
3. techcrunch.com ↗ · pub. 22/10/2026 13:47 · coletado 22/10 15:00

   China-aligned hackers breach ConnectWise cloud backup, steal app credentials and use AI agents to compromise ~2,250 customer organizations

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   Microsoft researchers report that China state-aligned hackers breached ConnectWise's cloud backup service and stole application credentials used to link ConnectWise with its customers' Microsoft-hosted environments. With these credentials the attackers could sign in as authorized users and access emails and other files. Microsoft says the actors used AI agents to compromise around 2,250 organizations at nearly 3,000 attempted sign-ins per minute, leaving defenders little time to detect and respond. ConnectWise has paused access to the cloud backup system, is investigating, and said on Thursday it was working to restore the service.

   Technical Details

   • Initial compromise: ConnectWise's cloud backup service; stolen application credentials that establish data links between ConnectWise and customer environments.
   • Abuse: the credentials allowed logins to customers' Microsoft-hosted environments as authorized users, exposing emails and files.
   • Tooling: the speed is attributed to AI agents built on ARTEX, an open source AI framework that works with AI models to stress-test cyber defenses. The article says the same software was used in a recent compromise of South Korea's financial systems, many of which had weak security and lacked multi-factor authentication.
   • The article does not name the threat actor or provide IOCs or CVEs.

   Remediation

   • The article gives no customer guidance beyond ConnectWise pausing cloud backup access and working on restoration.
   • Defenders using the service should watch for anomalous high-rate sign-ins and application-credential use in their Microsoft environments, and enforce multi-factor authentication.
4. theregister.com ↗ · pub. 22/10/2026 08:28 · coletado 22/10 10:00

   Storm-0940 uses ARTEX AI tool and compromised ConnectWise app credentials to target 2,250+ Microsoft 365 tenants

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   Microsoft attributes the recent ConnectWise security incident to Storm-0940, a China-linked espionage group active since at least 2021. The actor used the open source AI penetration-testing framework ARTEX and compromised ConnectWise application identities to attempt authentication against more than 2,250 Microsoft 365 tenants. Most attempts failed, but Microsoft says the group established persistent privileged access at numerous organizations, in some cases less than three hours after selecting a target. Microsoft has not disclosed how many customers were compromised or whether data was stolen. ConnectWise suspended its Cloud Backup, SaaS Security and Cloud Management services and says it has contained the affected application connections and is gradually restoring service.

   Technical Details

   • ARTEX is an open source Go framework that uses AI agents to automate reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, credential attacks and data theft. Storm-0940 has used it since at least September against government agencies, defense contractors, banks, manufacturers and tech firms worldwide. Microsoft has also seen actors from several regions using it.
   • Between October 10 and 14, the actor made more than 151,000 failed sign-in attempts (password spraying) against 327 accounts at eight organizations, with no successful logins observed.
   • The actor then pivoted to compromised ConnectWise application credentials, abusing permissions customers had already granted to ConnectWise services without needing an interactive user login.
   • Authentication attempts reached up to 2,900 per minute against more than 2,250 tenants.
   • Microsoft observed AI-accelerated activity through Microsoft Graph, including reconnaissance, application credential changes and attempts to modify privileges, potentially allowing persistence after the original credentials were revoked.
   • Microsoft cautions that a successful login does not necessarily mean data was accessed. The article says nothing suggests a link to ConnectWise's May 2025 nation-state breach affecting ScreenConnect.

   Remediation

   • Shutting down the affected ConnectWise application connections does not necessarily remove attackers who already established a foothold in customer environments.
   • Customers should review ConnectWise-linked application permissions and application credential or privilege changes in their Microsoft 365 tenants, since the article indicates attackers may have persisted after the original credentials were revoked.
5. infosecurity-magazine.com ↗ · pub. 22/10/2026 08:00 · coletado 22/10 08:01

   Storm-0940 uses ARTEX agentic AI framework to compromise ConnectWise Microsoft 365 tenants and target downstream customers

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   Microsoft assesses that the China-aligned actor Storm-0940 used the agentic AI penetration testing framework ARTEX to compromise the Microsoft 365 tenants of ConnectWise, then pivoted to its downstream customers. The campaign began in September 2026 and targeted hundreds of organizations worldwide across aerospace and defense, energy, financial services, government, semiconductor, software and other sectors. The actor often gained privileged cloud access in under three hours from initial targeting. ConnectWise detected suspicious activity on October 15 and unauthorized access to application identities in its Cloud Backup environment on October 17. It took Cloud Backup (formerly SkyKick), SaaS Security and Cloud Management offline, and began a phased restoration of Cloud Backup on October 22.

   Technical Details

   • Storm-0940 has been active since 2021 and focuses on data theft. Its initial access relies on password spraying and exploitation of internet-facing applications. It persists in cloud environments by adding credentials to existing OAuth applications.
   • After accessing the ConnectWise multi-tenant application, the actor used ARTEX to accelerate scanning and reconnaissance, password spraying and OAuth application abuse against customer tenants.
   • The group attempted sign-ins to more than 2,250 tenants at about 2,900 attempts per minute.
   • Using stolen app credentials, the AI agents authenticated to customer environments from the same IP range, abusing the trust those apps already had within each tenant.
   • Microsoft observed follow-on activity in multiple customer environments: reconnaissance, application credential modifications for persistence, and changes to identities, groups and privileged roles.
   • ARTEX is a multi-agent LLM framework that works with any AI model and automates offensive workflows from reconnaissance to data exfiltration, storing discovered assets and vulnerabilities in a graph. Its interface defaults to English but can be switched to Korean, Mandarin, Spanish or Japanese.
   • CrowdStrike reported in October 2026 that a China-based actor used ARTEX against South Korean financial organizations, resulting in data exfiltration.
   • ConnectWise states that existing backup archives remain encrypted, isolated and preserved, with no indication of compromise, and that there is no evidence other products are affected.

   Remediation

   • Review individual Microsoft 365 tenants for unauthorized changes or persistent access, including OAuth application credentials, identities, groups and privileged roles.
   • Keep affected ConnectWise connections disabled until ConnectWise issues formal, service-specific reconnection instructions.
6. thehackernews.com ↗ · pub. 22/10/2026 01:21 · coletado 22/10 04:00

   Storm-0940 uses ARTEX agentic AI framework in ConnectWise Cloud Backup supply chain attack on hundreds of organizations

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   Microsoft attributed the recent supply chain compromise of the ConnectWise Cloud Backup application to Storm-0940, a China state-aligned actor. The actor used ARTEX, a Go-based agentic AI penetration testing framework, to automate reconnaissance, password spraying and OAuth application abuse at "machine speed" against hundreds of organizations worldwide since September 2026. After the actor took over the identities of multiple ConnectWise cloud applications on October 15, 2026, it used the trust those apps already held in customer tenants to authenticate without interactive sign-in. In several cases the time from initial targeting to privileged cloud access was under 3 hours. Microsoft says other threat actors in multiple regions are also weaponizing ARTEX, and Recorded Future and Zscaler link it to earlier, apparently financially motivated attacks on South Korean financial institutions. ConnectWise temporarily shut down services and is restoring them in phases over several days.

   Technical Details

   • ARTEX was made closed-source after its abuse against South Korean financial institutions. Zscaler ThreatLabz analyzed a custom deployment that used DeepSeek, GLM and Grok models via an OpenAI-compatible gateway, with multi-agent cross-review prompts and a Claude Code prompt history.
   • Between October 10 and 14, 2026, infrastructure at 144.172.64[.]99 ran a cross-tenant password-spray campaign against 327 accounts across eight organizations, targeting Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online. Microsoft captured more than 151,000 failed logons, peaking at 2,900 per minute on October 11 (over 111,000 failures that day). 48 accounts received more than 1,000 failures. No successful authentication was detected in that window.
   • ARTEX attempted sign-ins against more than 2,250 tenants at up to 2,900 attempts per minute.
   • On October 15, 2026, the agents gained control of multiple ConnectWise cloud application identities and used the same IP range to authenticate to customer environments via the stolen app credentials.
   • Follow-on activity included Microsoft Graph and directory operations, reconnaissance, application credential modifications for persistence, and changes to identities, groups and privileged roles. These credential changes can persist as a backdoor even after the compromised application is remediated.
   • Storm-0940 has been active since at least 2021. It uses the Quad7 (CovertNetwork-1658) botnet for password spraying, exploits internet-facing applications, and adds credentials to existing OAuth apps for persistence.
   • Targeted sectors: aerospace and defense, automotive, chemicals, energy, financial services, government, legal, manufacturing, media, military, semiconductor, software, technology, think tanks and non-profits.
   • Recorded Future Insikt Group tracks the South Korea-focused cluster as TAG-217, with activity dating to August 17, 2026. It also built tooling against YiiMP cryptocurrency mining operations and set up a workspace for iPhone vulnerability testing and Android system modification. Prompt histories included requests for bulk personal and transaction data, payment gateway API keys and NFT minting workflow exploitation.

   Remediation

   The article gives no formal remediation steps. Its implications for defenders:

   • Block or monitor the cited infrastructure 144.172.64[.]99.
   • Audit ConnectWise-related application identities and OAuth credentials in Microsoft 365 tenants.
   • Review recent application credential changes and privileged role modifications.
   • Detect high-rate password spraying, given the short detection window.
   • MSPs should treat their own environments as an access path into every client they serve.
7. cyberscoop.com ↗ · pub. 21/10/2026 18:58 · coletado 21/10 20:00 primeiro registro

   China-aligned Storm-0940 used ARTEX AI agents in ConnectWise Cloud Backup supply-chain attack on Microsoft 365 tenants

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   Microsoft attributed the recent supply-chain attack on ConnectWise customers' Microsoft 365 environments to Storm-0940, a China-state aligned actor active since 2021. Since at least September 2026 the group has used the open-source agentic AI penetration testing framework ARTEX to automate attacks against hundreds of organizations worldwide. After a failed password-spraying wave, it compromised ConnectWise Cloud Backup and used it to reach downstream customer tenants. Microsoft has not said how many customers were compromised and cautions that successful authentication does not necessarily mean data access or theft. ConnectWise shut down services on Saturday and began phased restoration on Wednesday, expecting recovery to take several days.

   Technical Details

   • Over the four days ending Oct. 14, Storm-0940 targeted 327 Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online accounts across eight organizations, with more than 151,000 failed logons, peaking at 2,900 failures per minute.
   • The next day it turned to ConnectWise, using the same malicious infrastructure and AI agents against Cloud Backup customers' Microsoft 365 environments.
   • ARTEX reached more than 2,250 tenants at about 2,900 sign-in attempts per minute.
   • It accelerated scanning and password spraying and abused OAuth applications in downstream victims.
   • In some environments the agents went beyond authentication to Microsoft Graph and directory operations: reconnaissance, application credential modifications for persistence, and changes to identities, groups and privileged roles.
   • ARTEX is described as LLM-driven agents that run an autonomous penetration test from reconnaissance to exfiltration, and works with any AI model. Microsoft says multiple actors from various regions use it.
   • Targeted sectors: aerospace and defense, automotive, chemicals, energy, financial services, government, legal, manufacturing, media, military, semiconductors, software, technology, think tanks and non-profits.

   Remediation

   • ConnectWise advised customers to keep their connections disabled while phased recovery continues.
   • Review Microsoft 365 tenants for evidence of follow-on activity, especially unexpected changes to application credentials, groups and privileged roles, and audit high-privilege third-party OAuth applications.