When configuration becomes a vulnerability: Exploitable misconfigurations in AI apps

In this article 1. Background 2. What is an exploitable misconfiguration? 3. Exploitable misconfigurations in popular AI applications 4. Minimizing the risk: Practical deployment guidance 5. How Microsoft Defender for Cloud helps detect exposures in Kubernetes 6. Learn more AI and agentic...

Defense at AI speed: Microsoft’s new multi-model agentic security system tops leading industry benchmark

In this article 1. AI-powered vulnerability discovery at hyper-scale 2. Codename: MDASH—Microsoft Security’s new multi-model agentic scanning harness 3. Using codename MDASH for security research 4. The 5.12.2026 Patch Tuesday cohort 5. Two deep dives 1. CVE-2026-33827—Remote unauthenticated UAF ...

Defense at AI speed: Microsoft’s new multi-model agentic security system tops leading industry benchmark

In this article 1. AI-powered vulnerability discovery at hyper-scale 2. Codename: MDASH—Microsoft Security’s new multi-model agentic scanning harness 3. Using codename MDASH for security research 4. The 5.12.2026 Patch Tuesday cohort 5. Two deep dives 1. CVE-2026-33827—Remote unauthenticated UAF ...

When prompts become shells: RCE vulnerabilities in AI agent frameworks

In this article 1. A representative case study: Semantic Kernel 2. CVE-2026-26030: In-Memory Vector Store 3. CVE-2026-25592: Arbitrary file write through SessionsPythonPlugin 4. The vulnerability 5. Attack chain overview 6. Defending the agentic edge 7. Not bugs, but developed by design 8. CTF...

Simplifying AWS defense with Microsoft Sentinel UEBA

In this article 1. Under the hood: The tables 2. Traditional vs. new approach 3. Real-world attack scenarios: Microsoft Sentinel UEBA in action 4. Practical implementation: Getting started 5. Limitations and constraints 6. From raw logs to behavioral context With the expansion of Microsoft Sentin...

Dissecting Sapphire Sleet’s macOS intrusion from lure to compromise

In this article 1. Sapphire Sleet’s campaign lifecycle 2. Defending against Sapphire Sleet intrusion activity 3. Microsoft Defender detection and hunting guidance 4. Indicators of compromise Executive summary Microsoft Threat Intelligence uncovered a macOS‑focused cyber campaign by the North Kore...

Investigating Storm-2755: “Payroll pirate” attacks targeting Canadian employees

In this article 1. Storm-2755’s attack chain 2. Defending against Storm-2755 and AiTM campaigns 3. Microsoft Defender detection and hunting guidance 4. Indicators of compromise Microsoft Incident Response – Detection and Response Team DART researchers observed an emerging, financially motivated...

Threat actor abuse of AI accelerates from tool to cyberattack surface

For the last year, one word has represented the conversation living at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity: speed. Speed matters, but it’s not the most important shift we are observing across the threat landscape today. Now, threat actors from nation states to cybercrime groups are embedding...

Mitigating the Axios npm supply chain compromise

In this article 1. Analysis of the attack 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender detections 4. Indicators of compromise 5. Hunting queries On March 31, 2026, two new npm packages for updated versions of Axios, a popular HTTP client for JavaScript that simplifies making HTTP...

How Microsoft Defender protects high-value assets in real-world attack scenarios

In this article 1. Using asset context to strengthen detection 2. How high-value asset protection works 3. Real-world high-value asset protection scenarios 4. Protecting your HVAs 5. Learn more High-value assets including domain controllers, web servers, and identity infrastructure are frequent...

Case study: How predictive shielding in Defender stopped GPO-based ransomware before it started

In this article 1. The growing threat: GPO abuse in ransomware operations 2. The incident 3. The results 4. The hardening dilemma: Why threat actors love operational mechanisms 5. Predictive shielding: Contextual, just-in-time hardening 6. Closing the gap 7. References Summary Microsoft Defender...

Observability for AI Systems: Strengthening visibility for proactive risk detection

Adoption of Generative AI GenAI and agentic AI has accelerated from experimentation into real enterprise deployments. What began with copilots and chat interfaces has quickly evolved into powerful business systems that autonomously interact with sensitive data, call external APIs, connect to...

Observability for AI Systems: Strengthening visibility for proactive risk detection

Adoption of Generative AI GenAI and agentic AI has accelerated from experimentation into real enterprise deployments. What began with copilots and chat interfaces has quickly evolved into powerful business systems that autonomously interact with sensitive data, call external APIs, connect to...

From transparency to action: What the latest Microsoft email security benchmark reveals

In our last benchmarking post, Clarity in complexity: New insights for transparent email security ,1 we shared why transparency matters more than ever in email security and how clear, consistent benchmarking helps security teams cut through noise and make confident decisions. Today, we’re...

Secure agentic AI for your Frontier Transformation

Today we shared the next step to make Frontier Transformation real for customers across every industry with Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Agent 365, and Microsoft 365 E7: The Frontier Suite. Introducing the First Frontier Suite built on Intelligence and Trust As our customers rapidly...

Developer-targeting campaign using malicious Next.js repositories

Microsoft Defender Experts identified a coordinated developer-targeting campaign delivered through malicious repositories disguised as legitimate Next.js projects and technical assessment materials. Telemetry collected during this investigation indicates the activity aligns with a broader cluster...

Phishing actors exploit complex routing and misconfigurations to spoof domains

Phishing actors are exploiting complex routing scenarios and misconfigured spoof protections to effectively spoof organizations’ domains and deliver phishing emails that appear, superficially, to have been sent internally. Threat actors have leveraged this vector to deliver a wide variety of...

Changing the physics of cyber defense

The Deputy CISO blog series is whereMicrosoft 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 named a leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Email Security

We’re honored to share that Microsoft has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Email Security. We believe this recognition highlights the value of Microsoft Defender for Office 365’s innovative capabilities in addressing today’s complex email security challenges. Protect...

Investigating active exploitation of CVE-2025-10035 GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer vulnerability

On September 18, 2025, Fortra published a security advisory regarding a critical deserialization vulnerability in GoAnywhere MFT's License Servlet, which is tracked as CVE-2025-10035 and has a CVSS score of 10.0. The vulnerability could allow a threat actor with a validly forged license response...

Retail at risk: How one alert uncovered a persistent cyberthreat​​

In the latest edition of our Cyberattack Series, we dive into real-world cases targeting retail organizations. With 60% of retail companies reporting operational disruptions from cyberattacks and 43% experiencing security compromises in the past year, the risks for businesses continue to increase...

Dissecting PipeMagic: Inside the architecture of a modular backdoor framework

Among the plethora of advanced attacker tools that exemplify how threat actors continuously evolve their tactics, techniques, and procedures TTPs to evade detection and maximize impact, PipeMagic, a highly modular backdoor used by Storm-2460 masquerading as a legitimate open-source ChatGPT Deskto...

Announcing public preview: Phishing triage agent in Microsoft Defender

Intelligent triage for a more agile, autonomous SOC At Microsoft Secure 2025, we introduced a new wave of innovations across Microsoft Defender aimed at redefining what AI can do for security operations. At the center of these announcements was the launch of 11 Security Copilot agents, each...

Modernize your identity defense with Microsoft Identity Threat Detection and Response

In today’s fast-evolving landscape, where businesses balance on-premises systems and cloud resources, identity-based cyberthreats are growing more frequent and sophisticated. The question isn’t whether an identity attack will occur—but when. The numbers are staggering: In 2024 Microsoft saw an...

Frozen in transit: Secret Blizzard’s AiTM campaign against diplomats

Microsoft Threat Intelligence has uncovered a cyberespionage campaign by the Russian state actor we track as Secret Blizzard that has been targeting embassies located in Moscow using an adversary-in-the-middle AiTM position to deploy their custom ApolloShadow malware. ApolloShadow has 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...

Microsoft Named a Leader in the 2025 IDC CNAPP MarketScape: Key Takeaways for Security Buyers

The cloud-native application protection platform CNAPP market continues to evolve rapidly as organizations look to secure increasingly complex cloud environments. In the recently published 2025 IDC MarketScape for Worldwide CNAPP, Microsoft has been recognized as a Leader, reaffirming its...

14 secure coding tips: Learn from the experts at Microsoft Build

Hey friends! If you are a developer, you know that writing clean and efficient code is just the starting point. Now, with AI playing a bigger role, secure coding isn't just a 'nice-to-have'—it's a must. Whether you're building web apps, working on cloud services, or adding AI to your projects,...

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...

Microsoft’s Secure by Design journey: One year of success

Cybersecurity is one of the top risks facing businesses. Organizations are struggling to navigate the ever-evolving cyberthreat landscape in which 600 million identity attacks are carried out daily.1 The median time for a cyberattacker to access private data from phishing is 1 hour and 12 minutes...

Meet the Deputy CISOs who help shape Microsoft’s approach to cybersecurity

Microsoft launched its Cybersecurity Governance Council in 2024, and with it, named a group of deputy chief information security officers that ensure comprehensive oversight of the company's cybersecurity risk, defense, and compliance. These leaders work in tandem with product and engineering...

New innovations in Microsoft Purview for protected, AI-ready data

The Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Purview teams are excited to be in Las Vegas from March 31 to April 2, 2025, for the second annual and highly anticipated Microsoft Fabric Community Conference. With more than 200 sessions, 13 focused tracks, 21 hands-on workshops, and two keynotes, attendees ca...

Microsoft unveils Microsoft Security Copilot agents and new protections for AI

In this age of AI, securing AI and using it to boost security are crucial for every organization. At Microsoft, we are dedicated to helping organizations secure their future with our AI-first, end-to-end security platform. One year ago, we launched Microsoft Security Copilot to empower defenders ...

Women’s History Month: Why different perspectives in cybersecurity and AI matter more than ever before

This Women’s History Month serves as a crucial moment for us to lead and continue to pave the way for a more inclusive future. I am truly honored to support my amazing women colleagues who continue to excel in their careers and am grateful to have so many allies who have extended their hands to...

Updating the taxonomy of failure modes in agentic AI systems: What a year of red teaming taught us

In this article 1. Why the Taxonomy Needed Updating 2. Seven new failure modes 3. Operational findings: What red teaming showed 4. New mitigations 5. What to do this quarter When the Microsoft AI Red Team published the Taxonomy of Failure Modes in Agentic AI Systems in April 2025, the goal was a...

Malicious npm packages abuse dependency confusion to profile developer environments

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 2. Threat actor attribution 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. Indicators of Compromise IOC 5. References 6. Learn more Microsoft Threat Intelligence has uncovered an active supply chain attack involving malicious npm packages registered under...

Breaking the code: Multi-stage ‘code of conduct’ phishing campaign leads to AiTM token compromise

In this article 1. Multi-step social engineering campaign leading to credential theft 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender detections 4. Hunting queries 5. Indicators of compromise Phishing campaigns continue to improve sophistication and refinement in blending social...

Email threat landscape: Q1 2026 trends and insights

In this article 1. Tycoon2FA disruption impact 2. QR code phishing attacks 3. CAPTCHA tactics 4. Malicious payloads 5. Business email compromise 6. Defending against email threats 7. Microsoft Defender detections During the first quarter of 2026 January-March, Microsoft Threat Intelligence detect...

AI-powered defense for an AI-accelerated threat landscape

We are at an inflection point in cybersecurity. Recent advances in AI model capabilities are changing how vulnerabilities are discovered and exploited. AI models can autonomously discover weaknesses, chain multiple lower-severity issues into working end-to-end exploits, and produce working...

Detection strategies across cloud and identities against infiltrating IT workers

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 1. Activities in pre-recruitment phase 2. Activities in recruiting phase 3. Activities in post-recruitment phase 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender XDR detections The shift to remote and hybrid work since the pandemic expanded glob...

Making opportunistic cyberattacks harder by design

This is part of a series of blogs and interviews conducted with our Microsoft Deputy CISOs , in which we surface a number of mission-critical security recommendations and best practices that businesses can enact right now and derive real meaningful benefits from. In this article, Ilya Grebnov,...

Incident response for AI: Same fire, different fuel

In this article 1. The fundamentals still hold 2. Where AI changes the equation 3. Closing the gaps in telemetry, tooling, and response 4. The human dimension 5. Looking ahead When a traditional security incident hits, responders replay what happened. They trace a known code path, find the defect...

Addressing the OWASP Top 10 Risks in Agentic AI with Microsoft Copilot Studio

Agentic AI is moving fast from pilots to production. That shift changes the security conversation. These systems do not just generate content. They can retrieve sensitive data, invoke tools, and take action using real identities and permissions. When something goes wrong, the failure is not limit...

Guidance for detecting, investigating, and defending against the Trivy supply chain compromise

In this article 1. Analyzing the Trivy supply chain compromise 2. Detection and investigation 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. Advanced hunting queries 5. References 6. Learn more On March 19, 2026, Trivy, Aqua Security’s widely used open-source vulnerability scanner, was reported to have...

Governing AI agent behavior: Aligning user, developer, role, and organizational intent

AI agents increasingly perform tasks that involve reasoning, acting, and interacting with other systems. Building a trusted agent requires ensuring it operates within the correct boundaries and performs tasks consistent with its intended purpose. In practice, this requires aligning several layers...

Secure agentic AI end-to-end

Next week, RSAC™ Conference celebrates its 35-year anniversary as a forum that brings the security community together to address new challenges and embrace opportunities in our quest to make the world a safer place for all. As we look towards that milestone, agentic AI is reshaping industries...

Secure agentic AI end-to-end

Next week, RSAC™ Conference celebrates its 35-year anniversary as a forum that brings the security community together to address new challenges and embrace opportunities in our quest to make the world a safer place for all. As we look towards that milestone, agentic AI is reshaping industries...

New Microsoft Purview innovations for Fabric to safely accelerate your AI transformation

As organizations adopt AI, security and governance remain core primitives for safe AI transformation and acceleration. After all, data leaders are aware of the notion that: Your AI is only as good as your data. Organizations are skeptical about AI transformation due to concerns of sensitive data...

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...