SYNNEX, a long-time distribution partner of Microsoft, was hacked, and the related Microsoft accounts were interfered with, according to the National Committee of the US Republican Party(RNC).

The hackers breached the systems of SYNNEX but were unable to access any RNC data due to the swift action taken by RNC and Microsoft's IT departments. An RNC spokesperson confirmed that the attackers had breached their computer systems, but no data was stolen or tampered with.

SYNNEX said that the threat actors tried on 'a few occasions' to breach the Microsoft Cloud customer apps through the third party IT contractor but, they were unable to cause any consequential impact.

According to Bloomberg News, the hackers are a part of a group called Cozy Bear or APT 29. They have directly been linked to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, though Russian officials have denied these allegations several times. These hackers were supposedly involved in several cybercrimes, including infiltrating at least nine American agencies.

Some reports were pointing to a potential connection between this and the Kaseya Ransomware attacks. The president of SYNNEX, Michael Urban, stated that "We don't know about a link to the Kaseya attacks. We have never used their systems."

Microsoft has denied commenting anything about the SYNNEX attack as they have been the victims of these attacks several times recently. CEO and president of SYNNEX said in a statement, "We are abiding distribution partners of Microsoft, and we acknowledged the issue immediately to limit any further malicious activities of these threat actors. We remain vigilant and dedicated to the security of our organization. "

The response of the RNC and the inclusion of Cozy Bear in the argument hints that this might be just an online feud between Russia and the USA following the allegations made by President Biden on Russia about cyberattacks.