Strengthen Microsoft Support Services After the Colt Technology Services Breach.

In August 2025, Colt Technology Services suffered a devastating cybersecurity breach. Attackers exploited unpatched Microsoft SharePoint servers, exfiltrating sensitive data and forcing Colt to take support platforms offline. For enterprises relying on Microsoft support services, the incident is a wake-up call: reactive-only support isn’t enough.

Microsoft’s Unified Support model offers limited proactive help and comes at a premium cost. In contrast, US Cloud delivers the proactive, flexible support enterprises need—at 30–50% less. With an hour-based model, IT and procurement leaders decide how to use support hours, whether for incidents or proactive cybersecurity projects that can help prevent the next breach.

• In August 2025, Colt Technology Services was breached via unpatched Microsoft SharePoint vulnerabilities, leading to over 1M stolen documents and major service outages.
• The incident exposed the limitations of Microsoft Unified Support, which is expensive, reactive by design, and offers little proactive security assistance.
• Procurement and IT leaders need flexible support models that allow unused hours to be applied to proactive projects like patch audits, SharePoint hardening, and vulnerability scanning.
• US Cloud delivers Microsoft support services at 30–50% lower cost than Unified, with a Premier-style model that empowers enterprises to invest hours where they need them most—boosting cybersecurity while reducing spend.

In August 2025, ransomware group WarLock exploited Microsoft SharePoint vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-53770/71) to install a web shell and gain access to Colt’s internal systems.

The fallout was severe:

• More than 1 million documents were stolen, including financial records and customer contracts.
• Colt had to take down customer-facing platforms like its support portal and Voice API.
• The reputational damage was immediate, as stolen data was auctioned on the dark web.
• While Microsoft had issued security patches, Colt’s on-premises SharePoint systems were not fully secured—leaving the door wide open.

The Colt Technology Services breach highlights a systemic problem with Microsoft support services directly from Microsoft: Unified Support is reactive by design.

• Proactive support is limited: Enterprises don’t get meaningful help with patch management, vulnerability scanning, or system hardening.
• Costs are high: Unified often charges more than legacy Premier, but delivers less value.
• Procurement leaders lack control: Purchased support is consumed by incidents, leaving little flexibility for strategic projects.

When vulnerabilities like those in SharePoint emerge, Unified Support’s reactive posture can leave enterprises dangerously exposed.

Procurement and IT leaders must balance two pressures: keeping costs under control and reducing organizational risk. The Colt breach shows what happens when either is neglected.

With a flexible model like the one provided by US Cloud, enterprises gain:

• Cost efficiency: 30–50% savings compared to Microsoft Unified.
• Risk mitigation: unused incident hours can be redirected to proactive cybersecurity efforts.
• Strategic control: leaders choose how to apply purchased hours—whether for rapid response or future-focused defense.

This model not only stretches budget dollars further but also strengthens cybersecurity posture.

US Cloud’s Microsoft support services combine responsive incident handling with accessible proactive expertise.

Clients can use hours for:

• SharePoint hardening and patch audits (preventing the same vulnerabilities exploited at Colt).
• Security projects like AMSI enablement, vulnerability scanning, or compliance preparation.
• Incident response when urgent tickets arise.

The result: enterprise IT teams get the gold-standard flexibility of Microsoft Premier—without the premium cost of Unified.

The Colt breach is a powerful reminder that unpatched systems are a costly liability. Enterprises cannot afford to rely solely on Microsoft’s reactive Unified model.

US Cloud offers a smarter alternative: proactive, flexible, and cost-efficient Microsoft support services. For procurement leaders, that means stronger defenses, lower risk, and budget dollars put to better use.

Contact US Cloud today to learn how our proactive Microsoft support services can protect your enterprise while cutting costs by up to 50%.