Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Homecyber securityMicrosoft 365 Flags Emails with Images as Malware: A Growing Concern for...

Microsoft 365 Flags Emails with Images as Malware: A Growing Concern for Users

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

Microsoft 365 users have reported a troubling issue in which email messages containing images are incorrectly flagged as malware and subsequently quarantined.

This incident, identified as Issue ID: EX873252, has sparked widespread concern among businesses and individual users who rely on Exchange Online for their daily communications.

Incident Overview

The problem, categorized as a service degradation incident, affects Exchange Online, a key component of Microsoft 365.

- Advertisement - Google News

Users have noticed that legitimate emails containing images are mistakenly identified as threats, leading to disruptions in communication.

This has raised alarms, particularly for businesses that depend heavily on email for client interactions and internal communications.

Are You From SOC/DFIR Teams? - Try Advanced Malware and Phishing Analysis With ANY.RUN -14-day free trial

Figure 1Email Flagged Incorrectly (source:Microsoft)
Figure 1Email Flagged Incorrectly (source:Microsoft)

Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and assured users that they are actively working on a resolution.

However, the exact timeline for when the service will return to normal remains unclear, leaving users uncertain.

User Impact and Concerns

The incorrect flagging of emails has led to significant inconvenience for users. Many have expressed frustration over the inability to access essential communications and attachments.

Businesses, in particular, are feeling the strain as the issue hampers their operations and client relations.

The incident highlights the growing challenges in balancing cybersecurity measures with user accessibility.

Microsoft has advised users to remain patient as they work towards a solution. In the meantime, affected users are encouraged to check their quarantine folders regularly and manually release any emails that have been incorrectly flagged.

Microsoft has acknowledged the service degradation and is prioritizing resolving this issue. They have deployed teams to investigate the root cause and are implementing measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

While the exact timeframe for a fix is not specified, Microsoft is committed to restoring regular service as swiftly as possible.

As the situation develops, users are advised to stay updated through official Microsoft channels for the latest information and guidance on managing the impact of this incident.

Protect Your Business with Cynet Managed All-in-One Cybersecurity Platform – Try Free Trial

Divya
Divya
Divya is a Senior Journalist at GBhackers covering Cyber Attacks, Threats, Breaches, Vulnerabilities and other happenings in the cyber world.

Latest articles

Hackers Exploit NFC Technology to Steal Money from ATMs and POS Terminals

In a disturbing trend, cybercriminals, predominantly from Chinese underground networks, are exploiting Near Field...

Threat Actors Leverage TAG-124 Infrastructure to Deliver Malicious Payloads

In a concerning trend for cybersecurity, multiple threat actors, including ransomware groups and state-sponsored...

Ransomware Actors Ramp Up Attacks Organizations with Emerging Extortion Trends

Unit 42’s 2025 Global Incident Response Report, ransomware actors are intensifying their cyberattacks, with...

New SMS Phishing Attack Weaponizes Google AMP Links to Evade Detection

Group-IB’s High-Tech Crime Trends Report 2025 reveals a sharp 22% surge in phishing websites,...

Resilience at Scale

Why Application Security is Non-Negotiable

The resilience of your digital infrastructure directly impacts your ability to scale. And yet, application security remains a critical weak link for most organizations.

Application Security is no longer just a defensive play—it’s the cornerstone of cyber resilience and sustainable growth. In this webinar, Karthik Krishnamoorthy (CTO of Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface), will share how AI-powered application security can help organizations build resilience by

Discussion points


Protecting at internet scale using AI and behavioral-based DDoS & bot mitigation.
Autonomously discovering external assets and remediating vulnerabilities within 72 hours, enabling secure, confident scaling.
Ensuring 100% application availability through platforms architected for failure resilience.
Eliminating silos with real-time correlation between attack surface and active threats for rapid, accurate mitigation

More like this

Hackers Exploit NFC Technology to Steal Money from ATMs and POS Terminals

In a disturbing trend, cybercriminals, predominantly from Chinese underground networks, are exploiting Near Field...

Threat Actors Leverage TAG-124 Infrastructure to Deliver Malicious Payloads

In a concerning trend for cybersecurity, multiple threat actors, including ransomware groups and state-sponsored...

Ransomware Actors Ramp Up Attacks Organizations with Emerging Extortion Trends

Unit 42’s 2025 Global Incident Response Report, ransomware actors are intensifying their cyberattacks, with...