Bloomberg · Lorelei Smillie ·

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit says AI helped it link two separate hacking tools, Amadey and StealC, and file a single civil lawsuit to help take them down

Investigators used new tools to defeat old malware technology.

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit says AI helped it link two separate hacking tools, Amadey and StealC, and file a single civil lawsuit to help take them down

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TechSnif Coverage

Microsoft Used AI to Connect Two Hacking Tools and Sue Them Down

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit deployed AI to link the Amadey and StealC malware strains, enabling a single civil lawsuit.

Microsoft just turned AI loose on cybercriminals — and it worked. The company's Digital Crimes Unit used artificial intelligence to identify a connection between two separate hacking tools, Amadey and StealC, that investigators might not have linked otherwise.

That AI-powered detective work let Microsoft file a single civil lawsuit targeting both malware operations simultaneously. It's a new playbook: using cutting-edge tech to dismantle old-school malware infrastructure through legal channels.

Amadey and StealC are well-known tools in the cybercrime underground. Amadey typically acts as a loader, dropping additional malware onto compromised machines, while StealC focuses on siphoning credentials and sensitive data. Linking them in one legal action suggests shared infrastructure or operators behind the scenes.

Microsoft's approach signals a shift in how Big Tech fights cybercrime — less whack-a-mole, more surgical strikes powered by machine intelligence.