One simple action you can take to prevent 99.9 percent of attacks on your accounts

There are over 300 million fraudulent sign-in attempts to our cloud services every day. Cyberattacks aren’t slowing down, and it’s worth noting that many attacks have been successful without the use of advanced technology. All it takes is one compromised credential or one legacy application to...

Detecting reflective DLL loading with Windows Defender ATP

Today's attacks put emphasis on leaving little, if any, forensic evidence to maintain stealth and achieve persistence. Attackers use methods that allow exploits to stay resident within an exploited process or migrate to a long-lived process without ever creating or relying on a file on disk. In...

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...

Contagious Interview: Malware delivered through fake developer job interviews

Microsoft Defender Experts has observed the Contagious Interview campaign, a sophisticated social engineering operation active since at least December 2022. Microsoft continues to detect activity associated with this campaign in recent customer environments, targeting software developers at...

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...

AI vs. AI: Detecting an AI-obfuscated phishing campaign

Microsoft Threat Intelligence recently detected and blocked a credential phishing campaign that likely used AI-generated code to obfuscate its payload and evade traditional defenses. Appearing to be aided by a large language model LLM, the activity obfuscated its behavior within an SVG file,...

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 Security Copilot drives new product integrations at Microsoft Ignite to empower security and IT teams

First announced in March 2023, Microsoft Security Copilot—Microsofts first generative AI security product—has sparked major interest. The widespread enthusiasm was on full display after announcing our Early Access Program in October 2023 and sharing our incredible Security Copilot innovations at...

How to build stronger security teams

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyberthreats. In the latest post of our Community Voices blog series, Microsoft Security Senior Product Marketing Manager Brooke Lynn Weenig talks with Truesec Chief Chaos...

XDR meets IAM: Comprehensive identity threat detection and response with Microsoft

Identity has become the corporate security perimeter. The average organization used 130 different cloud applications in 2022. That’s up 18 percent from 2021 alone.1 And as organizations continue to embrace digital transformation and enable remote work, they look to identity and access management...

Microsoft Build 2023: Announcing new identity, compliance, and security features from Microsoft Security

At Microsoft Build 2023—an event for developers by developers—we’re going to announce exciting new features and technologies, share ideas, and help everyone boost their skills so we can all build a more secure future together. This year’s Microsoft Build offers a full program, both online and...

Microsoft shifts to a new threat actor naming taxonomy

April 19, 2023 update – We have published a JSON file mapping old threat actor names with their new names in the updated taxonomy, summarized here: https://aka.ms/threatactors. We also added hunting queries that Microsoft customers can use while transitioning to the new taxonomy. See the Resource...

Protect intellectual property with Govern 365 and Microsoft Purview

This blog post is part of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association guest blog series. Learn more about MISA. Global supply chains face a broad range of risks, from physical threats to cybersecurity threats. Sharing information with suppliers is essential for the supply chain to function...

Microsoft Incident Response Retainer is generally available

The task of securing organizations is constantly changing and getting more complex. Many organizations don’t have the time, resources, or expertise to build an in-house incident response program. For customers that want help remediating an especially complex breach or avoiding one altogether,...

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...

Identifying cyberthreats quickly with proactive security testing

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyberthreats. In the latest post of our Community Voices blog series, Microsoft Security Senior Product Marketing Manager Brooke Lynn Weenig talks with Matthew Hickey,...

5 cybersecurity capabilities announced at Microsoft Ignite 2022 to help you secure more with less

Protecting your business against growing security threats is a huge priority. Companies of all sizes have increased their spending on cybersecurity solutions to protect their operations over the last year. User spending for the information security and risk management market will grow to USD169.2...

Cybersecurity awareness tips from Microsoft to empower your team to #BeCyberSmart

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and I’m excited about what Microsoft and our partners in the industry have planned to help everyone stay CyberSmart. 2022 may have offered some respite from the previous year’s rush to enable a remote and hybrid workforce, but the increased use of persona...

Improving AI-based defenses to disrupt human-operated ransomware

Microsoft’s deep understanding of human-operated ransomware attacks, which are powered by a thriving cybercrime gig economy, continuously informs the solutions we deliver to protect customers. Our expert monitoring of threat actors, investigations into real-world ransomware attacks, and the...

Why strong security solutions are critical to privacy protection

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyberthreats. In the latest post of our Voice of the Community blog series, Microsoft Security Senior Product Marketing Manager Brooke Lynn Weenig talks with Ann Cavoukian,...

Using Python to unearth a goldmine of threat intelligence from leaked chat logs

Dealing with a great amount of data can be time consuming, thus using Python can be very powerful to help analysts sort information and extract the most relevant data for their investigation. The open-source tools library, MSTICPy, for example, is a Python tool dedicated to threat intelligence. I...

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...

Gartner® names Microsoft a Leader in the 2022 Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Information Archiving

With data doubling every two years, it is more critical than ever to have simple and integrated tools to understand and manage risks to an organization. As more people work remotely, users collaborate and store data in different locations. These secular trends offer new possibilities in how work...

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...

Microsoft Zero Trust solutions deliver 92 percent return on investment, says new Forrester study

In the last two years, we’ve seen a staggering increase in the adoption of cloud-based services, remote work solutions, bring your own device BYOD, and IoT devices as organizations digitally transform themselves to enable a hybrid workforce.1 Zero Trust has become the essential security strategy...

New Secured-core servers are now available from the Microsoft ecosystem to help secure your infrastructure

In the current pandemic-driven remote work environments, security has become increasingly important. Earlier this year, Colonial Pipeline, one of the leading suppliers of fuel on the East Coast of the United States, was hit by a ransomware attack.1 This caused a massive disruption of the fuel...

How to assess and improve the security culture of your business

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyber threats. In the latest Voice of the Community blog series post, Microsoft Security Product Marketing Manager Natalia Godyla talks with Cygenta Co-founder and Co-Chief...

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”...

Enable secure remote work, address regulations and uncover new risks with Microsoft Compliance

As we talk with a broad range of customers in the current environment, we hear some consistent challenges businesses are facing. With so many remote workers, people are creating, sharing, and storing data in new ways, which fosters productivity, but can also introduce new risks. A recent Microsof...

Why the Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative is a critical step

It’s well known by now that pipeline attacks and attacks on utilities of all kinds have been an unfortunately well-trodden path by cyber-adversaries in numerous countries for a few years now. These types of attacks are not theoretical, and the damage done to date—as well as the potential damage—i...

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...

Microsoft teams up with law enforcement and other partners to disrupt Gamarue (Andromeda)

Today, with help from Microsoft security researchers, law enforcement agencies around the globe, in cooperation with Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit DCU, announced the disruption of Gamarue, a widely distributed malware that has been used in networks of infected computers collectively called the...

GigaWiper: Anatomy of a destructive backdoor assembled from multiple malware

In this article 1. A wiper inside a backdoor 2. Backdoor capabilities 3. How GigaWiper was assembled 4. Conclusion: Multiple destructive capabilities consolidated into a single implant 5. Defending against destructive threats 6. Microsoft Defender detections 7. Indicators of compromise In October...

StealC and Amadey: Breaking down infostealers and the cybercrime services that deliver them

In this article 1. The role of infostealers: From credential theft to intrusion 2. StealC: Infostealer for rent 3. Amadey: Malware-as-a-service for delivery of infostealers 4. Defending against StealC and Amadey intrusions 5. Microsoft Defender detections 6. Indicators of compromise Infostealers...

Inside RedVDS: How a single virtual desktop provider fueled worldwide cybercriminal operations

Over the past year, Microsoft Threat Intelligence observed the proliferation of RedVDS, a virtual dedicated server VDS provider used by multiple financially motivated threat actors to commit business email compromise BEC, mass phishing, account takeover, and financial fraud. Microsoft’s...

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...

Marbled Dust leverages zero-day in Output Messenger for regional espionage

Since April 2024, the threat actor that Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracks as Marbled Dust has been observed exploiting user accounts that have not applied fixes to a zero-day vulnerability CVE-2025-27920 in the messaging app Output Messenger, a multiplatform chat software. These exploits have...

Social engineering attacks lure Indian users to install Android banking trojans

Microsoft has observed ongoing activity from mobile banking trojan campaigns targeting users in India with social media messages designed to steal users’ information for financial fraud. Using social media platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, attackers are sending messages designed to lure users...

Microsoft AI Red Team building future of safer AI

An essential part of shipping software securely is red teaming. It broadly refers to the practice of emulating real-world adversaries and their tools, tactics, and procedures to identify risks, uncover blind spots, validate assumptions, and improve the overall security posture of systems. Microso...

Latest Microsoft Entra advancements strengthen identity security

If you read behind the attention-grabbing headlines, most novel techniques rely on compromised identities.1 In fact, of all the ways an attacker can get into your digital estate, identity compromise is still the most common.2 This makes identity your first line of defense. In many organizations,...

Microsoft contributes S2C2F to OpenSSF to improve supply chain security

On August 4, 2022, Microsoft publicly shared a framework.pdf that it has been using to secure its own development practices since 2019, the Secure Supply Chain Consumption Framework S2C2F, previously the Open Source Software-Supply Chain Security OSS-SSC Framework. As a massive consumer of and...

Cybersecurity awareness tips from Microsoft to empower your team to #BeCyberSmart

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and I’m excited about what Microsoft and our partners in the industry have planned to help everyone stay CyberSmart. 2022 may have offered some respite from the previous year’s rush to enable a remote and hybrid workforce, but the increased use of persona...

Center for Threat-Informed Defense, Microsoft, and industry partners streamline MITRE ATT&CK® matrix evaluation for defenders

The MITRE Center for Threat-Informed Defense, Microsoft, and other industry partners collaborated on a project that created a repeatable methodology for developing a top MITRE ATT&CK® techniques list. The method aims to facilitate navigation of the ATT&CK framework, which could help new defenders...

Building a safer world together with our partners—introducing Microsoft Security Experts

More threats—not enough defenders The security landscape has become increasingly challenging and complex for our customers. Threats have grown at an alarming rate over the last year, and cybercrime is now expected to cost the world USD10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from USD3 trillion a decade...

This World Password Day consider ditching passwords altogether

Did you know that May 5, 2022, is World Password Day?1 Created by cybersecurity professionals in 2013 and designated as the first Thursday every May, World Password Day is meant to foster good password habits that help keep our online lives secure. It might seem strange to have a day set aside to...

Why decentralization is the future of digital identities

Our identity is increasingly becoming digitized—more of our hard copy credentials are converting into digital formats. We use these digital credentials to work, learn, play, socialize, shop, and consume services online and offline every day. It’s so convenient and expected now to be able to have...

Align your security and network teams to Zero Trust security demands

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyber threats. In the latest Voice of the Community blog series post, Microsoft Security Product Marketing Manager Natalia Godyla talks with Jennifer Minella, Founder and...

Your guide to mobile digital forensics

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyber threats. In the latest Voice of the Community blog series post, Microsoft Security Product Marketing Manager Natalia Godyla talks with Cellebrite Senior Director of...

New research shows IoT and OT innovation is critical to business but comes with significant risks

The need for much improved IoT and operational technology OT cybersecurity became clearer this year with recent attacks on network devices,1 surveillance systems,2 an oil pipeline,3 and a water treatment facility,4 to name a few examples. To better understand the challenges customers are facing,...

Microsoft unpacks comprehensive security at Gartner and Forrester virtual events

Every day, Microsoft is committed to maintaining comprehensive security for all across our interconnected global community. With that purpose in mind, we recently sponsored the 2021 Gartner Security and Risk Summit and 2021 Forester Security and Risk Forum, where we discussed ongoing changes in t...