Date of first publication: May 19th, 2026
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
MICROSOFT CORPORATION, a
Washington State Corporation,
Plaintiff,
v.
JOHN DOE 1,
JOHN DOE 2, a/k/a SamCodeSign,
a/k/a "Fox Tempest,"
and JOHN DOES 3-4,
a/k/a "Vanilla Tempest,"
Defendants.
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) Civil Action No. 26 Civ. 3737
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Plaintiff Microsoft Corporation ("Microsoft") brings this action against Defendants John Does 1-4 (collectively "Defendants") members of an organized cybercriminal enterprise that has fraudulently obtained code signing certificates from Microsoft's Artifact Signing service, using those certificates to sign malware, and deploying the malware to gain unauthorized access to victim computers for the purpose of stealing information, deploying ransomware, and extorting victims. Plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction directing the domain registrar and virtual hosting provider identified in the Complaint to take all steps necessary to disable access to and operation of the Defendants' infrastructure and isolate and preserve all material and content associated with the infrastructure pending resolution of the dispute. Plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction, other equitable relief, and damages. Full copies of the pleading documents are available at www.noticeofpleadings.net/opfauxsign.
NOTICE TO DEFENDANTS: READ THESE PAPERS CAREFULLY. You must "appear" in this case or the other side will win automatically. To "appear" you must file with the court a legal document called a "motion" or "answer." The "motion" or "answer" must be given to the court clerk or administrator within 21 days of the date of first publication specified here. It must be in proper form and have proof of service on Microsoft's attorney, Adam S. Hickey at Mayer Brown LLP, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, ahickey@mayerbrown.com. If you have questions, you should consult with your own attorney immediately.
NOTICE TO DEFENDANTS: The Court has ORDERED that the Show Cause Hearing re Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction will be SCHEDULED for May 22, 2026, at 12:30 p.m. in Courtroom 1506 at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in the Southern District of New York before Judge Ronnie Abrams. Note the updated timing from the TRO and Order to Show Cause.
APPLICATION FOR EMERGENCY TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER (TRO) AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
CONTACT US
If you wish to contact us, please direct your communication as follows:
Adam S. Hickey
Mayer Brown LLP
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY
Tel: (212) 506-2500
Fax: (212) 262-1910
Email: ahickey@mayerbrown.com