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Microsoft Teams Authentication Tokens Stored Unencrypted

Researchers from the Vectra Protect team found that Microsoft Teams store authentication tokens unencrypted on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. Attackers with local or remote system access can steal the tokens from Microsoft teams users who are signed in. Microsoft says that while it does not have immediate plans to fix the issue, it may address it in a future product release. Until there is a fix available, Vectra recommends migrating to the Microsoft teams web app and to create a system monitoring rule to identify processes accessing sensitive files.

Note

  • If you’re considering migrating to the browser-based Teams app, consider the browser chosen. Not all browser versions support teams fully and not all browsers have equivalent security protections. Consider Chromium Edge or Chrome for optimal experience. Even so, there is a reduction of functionality. Note that for Linux users EOL for the Linux desktop Teams client is December 22, so the browser version will be their only option. Monitoring access to the identified files by processes other than the Teams application and implementing a response mechanism may be far more acceptable to end users than switching to the browser-based app.

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Alex Lim is a certified IT Technical Support Architect with over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex IT systems and networks. He has worked for leading IT companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, providing technical support and solutions to clients across various industries and sectors. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and a master’s degree in information security from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the author of several best-selling books on IT technical support, such as The IT Technical Support Handbook and Troubleshooting IT Systems and Networks. Alex lives in Bandar, Johore, Malaysia with his wife and two chilrdren. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook

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