Microsoft Plans A Naming System For Hackers

Cybersecurity often feels like watching a thriller where the villain wears many disguises. One hacking group can go by several different names depending on who’s writing the report. Microsoft and security firm CrowdStrike are teaming up to fix this problem by proposing a unified naming system for hackers. This initiative aims to give each cybercriminal gang one official label that everyone agrees on. It’s not just about tidying up the names; it’s about making it faster and easier to understand who’s attacking, how they operate, and how to stop them. In a field where every second counts, a common language could be a game changer for organisations big and small.

The problem: multiple names, mixed signals

When a threat surfaces, IT support teams and security providers race to identify it, assess its tactics, and respond. But if different organisations call the same group by different names, the risk of confusion rises. For example, a group targeting businesses might be called Salt Typhoon by Microsoft, GhostEmperor by another security firm, or Operator Panda by yet another source. Without a shared label, security teams can miss the bigger picture — that these seemingly disparate alerts are actually the same threat pattern, infrastructure, and kill chain.

This fragmentation slows incident response, muddles threat intelligence, and can lead to delays in containment. In the fast-moving world of cyber attacks, time is a critical factor. The delayed recognition of a familiar adversary increases exposure and potential damage. The aim of a unified naming system is to reduce ambiguity and produce clearer, faster guidance for defenders.

The solution: a weather-themed, unified taxonomy

Microsoft’s proposed naming system introduces a structured taxonomy that organises hacking groups by type and origin, using weather-inspired terms. The concept is simple: assign each threat actor a single, widely accepted label that conveys essential context at a glance. Examples include:

• For state-backed groups, terms like “typhoon” or “blizzard” to indicate origin, such as Chinese or Russian operations.
• For other threat types, labels like “tempest,” “storm,” or “tsunami” to denote categories such as ransomware gangs or commercial spyware developers.

This approach aims to create a memorable, intuitive framework that security teams can rely on across vendors and platforms. The weather metaphor is meant to be both descriptive and scalable, allowing for new groups to be added with consistent naming conventions.

Why standardising names matters for defenders

• Faster threat recognition: A single label reduces cognitive load and speeds up the correlation of alerts from multiple sources.
• Improved threat intelligence: Shared nomenclature helps security teams spot patterns across campaigns, infrastructure, and tooling.
• More decisive response: Clearer attribution and context enable quicker decisions on containment, remediation, and outreach to affected stakeholders.
• Better collaboration: A common language lowers the barriers between customers, MSSPs, and security providers, enabling more effective joint actions.

For organisations, this can translate into shorter dwell times, fewer missed alerts, and stronger, faster reactions when suspicious activity arises.

The practicalities: adoption, governance, and evolution

Introducing a unified naming system is as much about governance as it is about terminology. Key considerations include:

• Governance model: Who maintains the taxonomy? How are new groups added, and how are disputed labels resolved?
• Cross-vendor alignment: How will Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Google, and other security firms coordinate to ensure consistent usage across platforms?
• Update cadence: Threats evolve rapidly. The taxonomy must be flexible enough to incorporate new actors and evolving tactics without causing churn.
• Local relevance: While a unified label helps at the global level, regional teams may still need context-specific information. The system should support both global consistency and local depth.

These considerations mean the rollout will be iterative, with ongoing input from vendors, researchers, and the wider security community.

What this means for businesses and MSPs

For businesses, especially small to medium-sized enterprises, a unified naming approach reduces the complexity of threat intelligence they need to digest. It levels the playing field by making it easier to understand who is behind an attack, how they operate, and what countermeasures are most effective.

Managed security service providers (MSSPs) and security operations centres (SOCs) can adopt the taxonomy to deliver clearer alerts and more actionable guidance to clients. With a common language, organisations can coordinate faster with vendors, share indicators of compromise (IOCs), and align incident response playbooks more readily.

Real-world impact: improving incident response

Consider a scenario where a business detects unusual activity. If different teams call the threat by different names, investigators may spend valuable time mapping the threat to a consistent profile. A unified naming system accelerates this mapping, guiding teams toward standard remediation steps and known-good playbooks associated with that label. In practice, this could reduce mean time to respond (MTTR) and improve the overall resilience of the organisation.

The move toward a unified naming system for hacking groups represents more than a cosmetic change in terminology. It’s a strategic effort to bring clarity to a chaotic threat landscape. By assigning each threat actor a single, agreed-upon label and using a thoughtful taxonomy to convey origin and type, Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Google, and other security leaders are taking a meaningful step to improve threat intelligence, speed up responses, and level the playing field for organisations of all sizes.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, a common language will help defenders stay a step ahead. Better naming equals better understanding, and better understanding translates into quicker, more effective action when it matters most.

If you’d like expert guidance on how this unified naming system could streamline your organisation’s security operations or help with incident response planning, get in touch with us at Blowfish Technology, IT Support Birkenhead, IT Support Crewe, IT Support Wrexham, IT Support Blackpool, IT Support Atherton, IT Support Nelson today. We’re here to help you navigate the changing tides of cybersecurity with clarity and confidence.