New Windows 11 features strengthen security to address evolving cyberthreat landscape

Ahead of the Microsoft Build 2024 conference, we announced a new class of Windows computers, Copilot+ PC. Alongside this exciting new class of PCs, we are introducing important security features and updates that make Windows 11 more secure for users and organizations and give developers the tools...

Join us at Microsoft Secure to discover the latest security solutions

Microsoft Secure is our first flagship event designed just for security professionals. On March 28, 2023, we will bring together security professionals from around the world to explore security information and event management SIEM and extended detection and response XDR, threat intelligence, AI,...

2022 in review: DDoS attack trends and insights

As organizations strengthen their defenses and take a more proactive approach to protection, attackers are adapting their techniques and increasing the sophistication of their operations. Cybercrime continues to rise with the industrialization of the cybercrime economy providing cybercriminals wi...

Addressing cybersecurity at the board level with Difenda and Microsoft

This blog post is part of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association guest blog series. Learn more about MISA. Cybersecurity is no longer simply a lone silo or regulatory process; it is a business issue that affects every aspect of an organization. From financial losses to reputational damage...

Discover Microsoft Security solutions for SLTT government grant readiness

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the United States federal government announced a cybersecurity grant program for state, local, territorial, and tribal SLTT governments to fund allocation of USD1 billion over the next...

How one product manager builds community at Microsoft Security

I first met Joey Cruz not long after he joined the Microsoft Identity and Network Access IDNA team when he helped create demos for a keynote speech I was delivering. Joey has a way of making you feel that even if something goes sideways, it will all be okay because he will make sure it is. As...

How to improve risk management using Zero Trust architecture

“Compliance is all about risk management and lessening risk, and the same is true of Zero Trust.” —Abbas Kudrati Whats risk management and why is it important? Risk management, the process of developing a strategy for addressing risk throughout its lifecycle, normally involves four phases: risk...

So you want to be a CISO: What you should know about data protection

Data is the lifeblood of any organization. Whether you’re a Chief Information Security Officer CISO or aspiring to become one, protecting sensitive business data will be your main priority. But the job isn’t getting any easier. In 2021, the number of data breaches climbed 68 percent to 1,862,...

Microsoft launches Defender for Business to help protect small and medium businesses

Happy National Small Business Week1 in the United States! Small and medium businesses SMBs are the bedrock of our economy, representing 90 percent of businesses and more than 50 percent of employment worldwide.2 As we celebrate their innovation and contributions this week, it’s important to...

Microsoft CRSP shares the ways human behavior affects compromise recovery

The Microsoft Compromise Recover Security Practice CRSP is a worldwide team of cybersecurity experts operating in most countries, across all organizations public and private, with deep expertise to secure an environment post-security breach and to help you prevent a breach in the first place. As ...

How Microsoft can help reduce insider risk during the Great Reshuffle

These are exciting and demanding days for organizations adapting to hybrid work realities, including a wider distributed workforce and more rapid change in employee roles. Organizations are becoming more agile as they refocus on employee onboarding and empowerment, opportunities with third-party...

How CISOs are preparing to tackle 2022

Looking back over the last year, the security landscape has continued to experience significant change and escalation. Every day, we see the toll this is taking on organizations of all sizes as they navigate the enduring challenges of the pandemic, the expansion of the digital estate, and the...

The importance of identity and Microsoft Azure Active Directory resilience

I love hearing my colleagues explain how they came to the industry because so many of their stories are unusual. I’m surprised how often I hear that people got into computer science by some fortuitous accident. Although he loved computers from the time he was a kid, Oren Melzer never expected to...

Get career advice from 7 inspiring leaders in cybersecurity

Are you currently studying information security? Or are you considering transitioning to a career in cybersecurity? According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, cybersecurity jobs will grow 31 percent from 2019 to 2029—more than six times the national average job growth.1 Cybersecurity skills...

3 steps to prevent and recover from ransomware

On July 14, 2021, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence1 NCCoE at the National Institute of Standards and Technology2 NIST hosted a virtual workshop3 to seek feedback from government and industry experts on practical approaches to preventing and recovering from ransomware and other...

New study shows customers save time, resources and improve security with Microsoft Cloud App Security

The global pandemic has forever changed our workplaces and reshaped our cybersecurity priorities. While in recent months cloud apps have helped people around the globe stay productive and connected. They also pose an increased cybersecurity risk to businesses large and small, especially when you...

Secure access to your enterprise with Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5

Most lessons in cybersecurity are born out of necessity. In this case, it was my need for a haircut. Last weekend, I was reminded why it’s time to rethink the conventional wisdom about secure passwords and user access. I was making an appointment online and at the very end of the process, the...

The evolution of Microsoft Threat Protection, February update

February is an exciting month of enhancements for Microsoft Threat Protection. For those who have followed our monthly updates November, December, and January, you’re aware that Microsoft Threat Protection helps provide users optimal security from the moment they sign in, use email, work on...

Securing the future of AI and machine learning at Microsoft

Artificial intelligence AI and machine learning are making a big impact on how people work, socialize, and live their lives. As consumption of products and services built around AI and machine learning increases, specialized actions must be undertaken to safeguard not only your customers and thei...

IGF proves the value of bottom-up, multi-stakeholder model in cyberspace policy-making

In December, the Internet Governance Forum IGF brought the world together to talk about the internet. I tend to take a definite interest in cybersecurity, but there were many more important topics discussed. They ranged from diversity in the technology sector through to philosophy in the digital...

Microsoft named a leader in the Frost Radar for cloud and application runtime security

Cloud security is shifting from visibility to contextual risk reduction, extending into the applications, APIs, and workloads where attacks actually occur. Because modern workloads are built and run in the cloud, security teams must understand which exposures matter most, prioritize what can trul...

​​Forrester names Microsoft a Leader in the 2026 Extended Detection and Response Platforms Wave™ report

We are excited to share that Microsoft has been named a Leader inThe Forrester Wave™: Extended Detection and Response Platforms, Q2 2026. Microsoft ranked the highest of any vendor evaluated in the Strategy category and is the only vendor to receive the highest score in Vision. Microsoft also...

AI is accelerating cyberattacks—here’s how to stay ahead

In March, we wrote that identity security has become the new pressure point for modern cyberattacks. Since then, AI has only increased that pressure. AI helps cyberattackers move faster across the attack chain: personalizing social engineering at scale, automating reconnaissance, analyzing leaked...

Preinstall to persistence: Inside the Red Hat npm Miasma credential-stealing campaign

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Learn more Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a large-scale npm supply chain attack affecting 32 maliciously modified packages across more than 90 versions under the @redhat-cloud-services npm scope. The...

From edge appliance to enterprise compromise: Multi-stage Linux intrusion via F5 and Confluence

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 1. Initial access: Exploiting edge appliances 2. Discovery and reconnaissance 3. Lateral movement and identity compromise 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 1. Microsoft Defender XDR detections 2. Advanced hunting 3. Indicators of compromise IOC 4. MITR...

How Storm-2949 turned a compromised identity into a cloud-wide breach

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 1. Cloud compromise: Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft 365 2. Initial access and persistence through targeted social engineering and SSPR abuse 3. Directory discovery and persistence 4. Microsoft 365 discovery and exfiltration 5. Cloud compromise: Microsoft...

Inside Tycoon2FA: How a leading AiTM phishing kit operated at scale

In this article 1. Operational overview of Tycoon2FA 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender detections Following its emergence in August 2023, Tycoon2FA rapidly became one of the most widespread phishing-as-a-service PhaaS platforms, enabling campaigns responsible for tens of...

Unify now or pay later: New research exposes the operational cost of a fragmented SOC

Security operations are entering a pivotal moment: the operating model that grew around network logs and phishing emails is now buckling under tool sprawl, manual triage, and threat actors that outpace defender capacity. New research from Microsoft and Omdia shows just how heavy the burden can...

New Microsoft Data Security Index report explores secure AI adoption to protect sensitive data

Generative AI and agentic AI are redefining how organizations innovate and operate, unlocking new levels of productivity, creativity and collaboration across industry teams. From accelerating content creation to streamlining workflows, AI offers transformative benefits that empower organizations ...

Cybersecurity strategies to prioritize now​​

The Deputy CISO blog series is where Microsoft Deputy Chief Information Security Officers CISOs share their thoughts on what is most important in their respective domains. In this series, you will get practical advice, tactics to start and stop deploying, forward-looking commentary on where the...

Microsoft is named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms

Since 2022, the number of human-operated ransomware-linked encounters by organizations surged by 2.75x. Yet, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has outpaced this rise, reducing the number of successful attacks by 3x, proving its power to turn the tide against evolving cyberthreats.1 Defender for...

Data Breach Reporting for regulatory requirements with Microsoft Data Security Investigations​​

Seventy-four percent of organizations surveyed experienced at least one data security incident with their business data exposed in the previous year as reported in Microsoft’s Data Security Index: Trends, insights, and strategies to secure data report. Despite the best people, process and...

Microsoft extends Zero Trust to secure the agentic workforce

Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index Read more ↗ Agentic AI transformation is giving rise to the Frontier Firm—a new type of organization characterized by on-demand intelligence and a workforce where humans and agents work in tandem. According to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index, we expect every...

Understanding the threat landscape for Kubernetes and containerized assets

The dynamic nature of containers can make it challenging for security teams to detect runtime anomalies or pinpoint the source of a security incident, presenting an opportunity for attackers to stay undetected. Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed threat actors taking advantage of unsecured...

Security above all else—expanding Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative

Last November, we launched the Secure Future Initiative SFI to prepare for the increasing scale and high stakes of cyberattacks. SFI brings together every part of Microsoft to advance cybersecurity protection across our company and products. Since then, the threat landscape has continued to rapid...

Starting your journey to become quantum-safe

There’s no doubt we are living through a time of rapid technological change. Advances in ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence transform nearly every aspect of work and life. As the world moves forward with new advancements and distributed technologies, so too does the need to understand...

Microsoft Purview data security mitigations for BazaCall and other human-operated data exfiltration attacks

I recently worked with an enterprise customer who experienced a data exfiltration attack using the characteristics of the BazaCall campaign. BazaCall can be both a ransomware and data exfiltration attack that are used together to increase pressure on and damage to the victim. Microsoft Purview ha...

DEV-1101 enables high-volume AiTM campaigns with open-source phishing kit

Adversary-in-the-middle AiTM phishing kits are part of an increasing trend that is observed supplanting many other less advanced forms of phishing. AiTM phishing is capable of circumventing multifactor authentication MFA through reverse-proxy functionality. DEV-1101 is an actor tracked by Microso...

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 named Best Email Security Service of 2023 by SE Labs

In todays world where hybrid and remote work are on the rise, and companies rely on email now more than ever, phishing remains one of the most prominent and sophisticated techniques that malicious actors utilize to attack organizations and gain access to their most sensitive information...

Stopping C2 communications in human-operated ransomware through network protection

Command-and-control C2 servers are an essential part of ransomware, commodity, and nation-state attacks. They are used to control infected devices and perform malicious activities like downloading and launching payloads, controlling botnets, or commanding post-exploitation penetration frameworks ...

The door is open for anyone to become a cyber defender

Throughout Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Microsoft has highlighted the importance of cybersecurity and provided resources to help people and organizations stay safe. It’s great to have this month as a reminder, and even better if that awareness becomes a year-round endeavor. Education is really...

How IT and security teams can work together to improve endpoint security

For executives in the IT and security spaces, the current climate offers reasons to worry. As workers become accustomed to new flexibility in the workplace, hybrid and remote work options present more challenges. Users want to access corporate resources from their own devices without the...

Discover 5 lessons Microsoft has learned about compliance management

Compliance management is a complex process—one that gets increasingly more complicated the larger an organization grows. Microsoft knows this firsthand, not only because of our experience providing Security and Compliance solutions to customers but also because of the global reach and...

Hive ransomware gets upgrades in Rust

Hive ransomware is only about one year old, having been first observed in June 2021, but it has grown into one of the most prevalent ransomware payloads in the ransomware-as-a-service RaaS ecosystem. With its latest variant carrying several major upgrades, Hive also proves it’s one of the fastest...

Microsoft showcases the future of comprehensive security at RSA 2022

The last time the RSA Conference was held as an in-person event was in 2020. Needless to say, a lot has changed since then. RSA is once again going forward as an in-person and digital event in San Francisco, from June 6 to 9, 2022. After two years of remote interactions, we’re excited to exchange...

A clearer lens on Zero Trust security strategy: Part 1

Todays world is flooded with definitions and perspectives on Zero Trust, so we are kicking off a blog series to bring clarity to what Zero Trust is and what it means. This first blog will draw on the past, present, and future to bring a clear vision while keeping our feet planted firmly on the...

What Generation Z can teach us about cybersecurity

Girl Security National Security Fellows Program fellow Amulya, a 17-year-old interested in countering online disinformation, said she feels her sense of personal privacy has been largely nonexistent “growing up in a media-saturated world.” She believes her sense of privacy was stolen by a...

Evolved phishing: Device registration trick adds to phishers’ toolbox for victims without MFA

We have recently uncovered a large-scale, multi-phase campaign that adds a novel technique to traditional phishing tactics by joining an attacker-operated device to an organization’s network to further propagate the campaign. We observed that the second stage of the campaign was successful agains...

Join us at InfoSec Jupyterthon 2021

We’re excited to invite our community of infosec analysts and engineers to the second annual InfoSec Jupyterthon taking place on December 2-3, 2021. This is an online event organized by our friends in the Open Threat Research Forge, together with folks from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Cente...

The hunt for NOBELIUM, the most sophisticated nation-state attack in history

This is the second in a four-part blog series on the NOBELIUM nation-state cyberattack. In December 2020, Microsoft began sharing details with the world about what became known as the most sophisticated nation-state cyberattack in history. Microsoft’s four-part video series “Decoding NOBELIUM”...