Microsoft Corp. has curtailed Chinese companies’ access to advance notifications about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in its technology after investigating whether a leak led to a series of hacks exploiting flaws in its SharePoint software. The change, which occurred last month, will limit access for program participants in “countries where they’re required to report vulnerabilities to their governments,” which would include China, according to David Cuddy, a Microsoft spokesperson. The goal of the Microsoft Active Protections Program, or MAPP, is to provide security software companies around the world with early details about flaws in Microsoft products so they can provide updated protections for their customers faster. The announcement from Microsoft follows a campaign of cyberattacks that Microsoft blamed on state-sponsored hackers in China who targeted security weaknesses in SharePoint servers. More than 400 government agencies and corporations were breached in the SharePoint attacks, including the US’s National Nuclear Security Administration, responsible for designing and maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons. It’s unclear how alleged Chinese hackers discovered the vulnerabilities in SharePoint. Following the attacks, however, Microsoft investigated whether details about the flaws may have leaked from its MAPP partners, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Full report : Microsoft says it curtailed Chinese companies’ access to advance vulnerability notifications via MAPP starting in July, after probing the SharePoint breach.