US cyber agency says Russian hackers use Microsoft access to steal government emails

FILE PHOTO: A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Russian government-backed hackers have used their access to Microsoft's email system to steal correspondence between officials and the tech giant, an emergency directive by the U.S. watchdog released on Thursday showed.

In the directive dated April 2, the agency warned that hackers were exploiting authentication details shared by email to try to break into Microsoft's customer systems, including those of an unspecified number of government agencies.