Microsoft disrupts Russian hackers targeting Ukraine, US and EU
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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said late on Thursday that it had thwarted an attempt by Russian hackers to go after different entities in Ukraine, including media organizations.
In a blog post, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Customer Security & Trust Tom Burt said the group, known as Strontium that it has "tracked for years," was trying to take control of seven internet domains to coordinate the attacks. 
Microsoft obtained a court order to take control of the domains "to mitigate Strontiumâs current use of these domains and enable victim notifications," Burt wrote in the post.
In addition to going after organizations in Ukraine, Strontium, which Microsoft called a "Russian GRU-connected actor," was also targeting government institutions and think tanks in the U.S. and European Union. 
Strontium is also known as Fancy Bear or APT28 and is often linked to Russian intelligence.
Microsoft added that prior to this week's action, it has seized control of more than 100 Strontium controlled domains, getting court orders 15 different times.
On Wednesday, Boeing (BA) tapped Microsoft (MSFT), as well as Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) for a cloud computing deal that some believe may be worth more than $1 billion.