Case Study: Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit disrupts multimillion-dollar cybercrime ring with Microsoft Azure analytics

Digital Crimes Unit Uses Microsoft Data Analytics Stack to Catch Cybercriminals

Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) was called in after a U.S. Homeland Security agent bought a suspiciously cheap Windows product key from an online seller in Des Moines. Traditional product‑ID checks couldn’t explain how a small local operator was tied to a global stolen‑key ring, so investigators needed to analyze massive, disparate datasets to uncover hidden patterns and connections.

Working with Microsoft IT and federal law enforcement, the DCU merged 20 databases and used Microsoft Analytics Platform System, Azure HDInsight and Power BI to reframe the analysis around activations rather than devices. That approach exposed a Des Moines IP with more than 2,800 Office activations on four machines, led to a warrant and raid, uncovered tens of thousands of stolen keys, produced a new “test spike” detection algorithm, and helped dismantle a multimillion‑dollar cybercrime operation while generating leads for further cases.

Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit

David Finn

Executive Director & Associate General Counsel