Storm alert! Microsoft's new naming taxonomy for hackers brings a storm of weather-themed monikers

In a move that's sure to shake up the world of cybersecurity, Microsoft has announced a new naming taxonomy for hackers. Rather than referring to them by their previous monikers, Microsoft will now be giving them names based on weather events like storms, typhoons, and blizzards.

This new system will include eight groups in total, with nation-state actors being named after specific weather events to indicate where the groups are operating from. For example, Chinese hackers will be called Typhoon, while Russian hackers will now be known as Blizzard.

China - Typhoon

Iran - Sandstorm

Lebanon - Rain

North Korea - Sleet

Russia - Blizzard

South Korea - Hail

Turkey - Dust

Vietnam - Cyclone

Financially motivated hacking groups will be named tempest, private sector offensive actors will be called tsunami, and influence operations will be referred to as floods. Microsoft will also assign temporary names like Storm and a four-digit number to any new threats that are unknown or from an unknown source.

While some may find these weather-themed names to be a bit gimmicky, Microsoft sees this as a way to make cybersecurity more accessible and easier to understand for everyone. John Lambert, Microsoft's CVP of threat intelligence, stated that "the naming approach we have used previously has been retired. We have reassigned all existing threat actors to the new taxonomy, and going forward will be using the new threat actor names."

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This move is not without controversy, however, as some experts have criticized Microsoft for potentially trivializing the severity of cyber attacks. But for now, we'll just have to wait and see if these weather-themed names catch on in the world of cybersecurity.