When Detection Isn't Enough: The SharePoint Hack That Shook the World
In July 2025, a sweeping cyber-espionage campaign exploited vulnerabilities in on-premises Microsoft SharePoint servers—flooding the news with alarming stats: about 400 organizations worldwide have already been compromised, with researchers warning the real figure is likely much higher.
Among the victims: multiple U.S. federal agencies—Departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services—and critical infrastructure players such as the California Independent System Operator.
The attack was traced to at least three China-linked hacking groups—Linen Typhoon, Violet Typhoon, and Storm-2603—that have been leveraging newly discovered zero-day flaws in SharePoint to gain remote control over systems, steal keys, deploy Warlock ransomware, and establish persistent access via backdoors.
Microsoft scrambled to issue emergency patches, but by then the damage was already done. The breach underscores a harsh reality: even prompt detection and patching may come too late.
Why “Detect and Respond” Isn’t Enough Anymore
The traditional cybersecurity triad—Detect, Respond, Recover—is no longer sufficient. In fast-moving, high-stakes attacks like ToolShell on SharePoint:
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Detection often happens after attackers have embedded themselves deeply.
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Response is firefighting against already-encrypted data or stolen credentials.
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Recovery can entail crippling downtimes, data loss, and reputational damage.
What modern threats demand is a shift to proactive containment—not just reacting to threats, but architecting systems that isolate and neutralize threats in real time, before they spread. This is Isolation & Containment, and it's where AppGuard shines.
AppGuard: Decade of Proven Protection Working for Your Business
For over 10 years, AppGuard has been providing endpoint protection that stops attacks in their tracks, not after they've been detected. Here's how:
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Preemptive isolation — AppGuard separates applications and their processes so that even if one part is compromised, it can't affect the rest of the system.
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Fine-grained control — Policies define what trusted apps can and can't do. Unknown code is contained, not executed.
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Rapid containment — When anomalous behavior is detected, AppGuard quarantines the activity instantaneously, stopping lateral movement in its tracks.
Having protected high-security environments for a decade, AppGuard is now available to businesses like yours—giving you a level of defense that isn’t just reactive, but fundamentally preventive.
Don’t Wait Until You’re Number 401
The SharePoint breach is a sobering reminder: “Detect and Respond” is a game of catch-up. The smarter, more effective strategy is to isolate and contain—stop threats at the door, not after they’ve entered.
Business owners: Are your endpoints still playing the detection catch-up game?
It’s time to switch to the AppGuard way. Let’s talk.
Reach out to us at CHIPS, because your business deserves a future where threats are contained—not just identified.
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