News broke over the weekend that Microsoft is taking down suspected Russian hackers using American trademark law, with a year-long legal battle tentatively drawing to a close this week. Microsoft filed suit against the hackers last year for computer intrusion and infringing on its trademarks. It alleged the John Does responsible, through an operation called “Strontium,” have broken into Microsoft accounts and stolen info from Microsoft customers. Tim Helming, Director of Product Management at DomainTools commented below.
Tim Helming, Director of Product Management at DomainTools:
“Large or high-profile organizations such as Microsoft draw vast numbers of cybersquatters who abuse their trademarks for a variety of activities. Often these activities are more in the vein of click fraud, ad fraud, or selling of counterfeit goods, but in this case they have been used for hacking. Microsoft is in the unenviable position of having tens of thousands of domains in existence that violate its trademarks, so it has to prioritize which to focus on. These domains have clearly, and appropriately, become a high priority for Microsoft to seize and shut down.”
