Unmasking EvilTokens: Getting to the root of device code phishing

In this article 1. What is device code phishing? 2. EvilTokens platform and operations 3. EvilTokens phishing emails 4. Mitigation and protection guidance 5. Microsoft Defender XDR detections 6. Hunting queries Following its emergence in February 2026, EvilTokens quickly became one of the most...

Real world incident response: Microsoft and AXA XL strengthen cyber resilience

Cyber incidents don't wait—and effective response can’t either. In the age of AI where cyber incidents unfold at machine speed, having the right partnerships in place becomes paramount. While AI is expanding what's possible, navigating this transformation can be challenging to do alone. That's wh...

Microsoft Security success stories: Why integrated security is the foundation of AI transformation

AI is transforming how organizations operate and how they approach security. In this new era of agentic AI, every interaction, digital or human, must be built on trust. As businesses modernize, they’re not just adopting AI tools, they're rearchitecting their digital foundations. And that means...

From awareness to action: Building a security-first culture for the agentic AI era

The insights gained from Cybersecurity Awareness Month, right through to Microsoft Ignite 2025, demonstrate that security remains a top priority for business leaders. It serves as a strategic lever for organizational growth, fosters trust, and facilitates the advancement of AI innovation. The Wor...

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 Purview innovations for your Fabric data: Unify data security and governance for the AI era

The Microsoft Fabric and Purview teams are thrilled to participate in the European Microsoft Fabric Community Conference September 15-18, 2025, in Vienna, Austria. This event is Microsoft’s largest tech conference in Europe, where data professionals gather to connect and share insights on data,...

Microsoft Sentinel data lake: Unify signals, cut costs, and power agentic AI

You can’t protect what you can’t see. Security operations teams have long been faced with the challenge of managing massive, fast-growing datasets, and the cost of scaling traditional data management tools to handle these data volumes has become unsustainable. We’re evolving our industry-leading...

Enhancing Microsoft 365 security by eliminating high-privilege access

In this blog you will hear directly from Microsoft’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer CISO for Experiences and Devices, Naresh Kannan, about eliminating high-privileged access across all Microsoft 365 applications. This blog is part of an ongoing series where our Deputy CISOs share their...

Building security that lasts: Microsoft’s journey towards durability at scale ​​

In this blog you will hear directly from Microsoft’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer CISO for Azure and operating systems, Mark Russinovich, about how Microsoft operationalized security durability at scale. This blog is part of an ongoing series where our Deputy CISOs share their though...

Transforming public sector security operations in the AI era

The cyberthreat landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, becoming increasingly dangerous and complex. Nation-state threat actors and cybercriminals are employing advanced tactics and generative AI to execute highly sophisticated attacks. This situation is further compounded by outdated...

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...

Test your team’s security readiness with the Gone Phishing Tournament

Why should you care about the behavioral risk of your employees? Eighty-two percent of breaches include and often start with user behavior.1 Not all are phishing, but a majority of them are just that. Phishing is, and has been for many years, the cheapest and most reliable way for an attacker of...

Star Blizzard refines phishing and malware delivery with the RedFlick technique

In this article 1. Star Blizzard TTPs observed in 2026 2. Defending against Star Blizzard and RedFlick-related activity 3. Microsoft Defender detections 4. Hunting queries 5. Indicators of compromise Since January 2026, Microsoft has observed Russian state threat actor Star Blizzard evolve their...

Improving email security outcomes with real-world Microsoft Defender insights

Every benchmark tells a story. The most valuable ones tell us where to improve next. For five consecutive quarters Microsoft has published email security benchmarking reports to provide greater transparency into real-world protection outcomes. The results have shown strong Microsoft Defender...

The threat to critical infrastructure has changed. Has your readiness?

Critical infrastructure CI organizations underpin national security, public safety, and the economy. In 2026, the cyber threat landscape facing these sectors is structurally different than it was even two years ago. What Microsoft Threat Intelligence is observing across critical infrastructure...

Clarity in complexity: New insights for transparent email security

As email threats grow more sophisticated and layered security architectures become more common, organizations need clear, data-driven insights to evaluate how their security solutions perform together. Benchmarking plays a critical role in helping security leaders understand not just individual...

Building a lasting security culture at Microsoft

At Microsoft, building a lasting security culture is more than a strategic priority—it is a call to action. Security begins and ends with people, which is why every employee plays a critical role in protecting both Microsoft and our customers. When secure practices are woven into how we think,...

Introducing Microsoft Marketplace — Thousands of solutions. Millions of customers. One Marketplace.

A new breed of industry-leading company is taking shape — Frontier Firms. These organizations blend human ambition with AI-powered technology to reshape how innovation is scaled, work is orchestrated and value is created. They’re accelerating AI transformation to enrich employee experiences,...

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,...

Microsoft Purview delivered 30% reduction in data breach likelihood

In today’s digital-first world, data is both an asset and a liability. As organizations scale their use of cloud platforms, AI, and remote collaboration tools, the complexity of managing data security, data privacy, and regulatory compliance grows exponentially. For organizations, the challenge i...

Azure mandatory multifactor authentication: Phase 2 starting in October 2025

As cyberattacks become increasingly frequent, sophisticated, and damaging, safeguarding your digital assets has never been more critical, and at Microsoft, your security is our top priority. Microsoft research shows that multi-factor authentication MFA can block more than 99.2% of account...

Securing and governing the rise of autonomous agents​​

In this blog, you will hear directly from Corporate Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer CISO for Identity, Igor Sakhnov, about how to secure and govern autonomous agents. This blog is part of a new ongoing series where our Deputy CISOs share their thoughts on what is most...

Announcing a new strategic collaboration to bring clarity to threat actor naming

In today’s cyberthreat landscape, even seconds of delay can mean the difference between stopping a cyberattack or falling victim to ransomware. One major cause of delayed response is understanding threat actor attribution, which is often slowed by inaccurate or incomplete data as well as...

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 ...

Defenders wanted—building the new cybersecurity professionals

As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we published a special blog post earlier this week featuring real-world experiences shared by cybersecurity professionals: people with diverse backgrounds in law, academia, software development, and other seemingly unrelated fields. This topic is near and...

Inside the LiteLLM 1.107.0 supply chain compromise: Credential theft through Python startup hooks

In this article 1. Attack overview 2. Technical details 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. Indicators of compromise 5. References 6. Learn More On October 21, 2026, a compromised LiteLLM 1.107.0 release was published to the Python Package Index PyPI and distributed through official containe...

Clarity in complexity: New insights for transparent email security

As email threats grow more sophisticated and layered security architectures become more common, organizations need clear, data-driven insights to evaluate how their security solutions perform together. Benchmarking plays a critical role in helping security leaders understand not just individual...

Microsoft named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for XDR

When cybersecurity stakes are high and complexity is the norm, Microsoft doesn’t just participate, it excels with Microsoft Defender XDR—built to anticipate, disrupt, and outpace modern cyberthreats. We are excited to announce that Microsoft has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwi...

Storm-0501’s evolving techniques lead to cloud-based ransomware

Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed financially motivated threat actor Storm-0501 continuously evolving their campaigns to achieve sharpened focus on cloud-based tactics, techniques, and procedures TTPs. While the threat actor has been known for targeting hybrid cloud environments, their...

Microsoft ranked number one in modern endpoint security market share third year in a row

Amidst the backdrop of a surging number of ransomware campaigns worldwide, organizations have increasingly chosen Microsoft Defender’s endpoint security as their preferred solution. It’s engineered to disrupt cyberattacks and not business continuity. As a result, for a third year a row, Microsoft...

Improving IT efficiency with Microsoft Security Copilot in Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Entra

When Microsoft introduced Microsoft Security Copilot last year, our vision was to empower organizations with generative AI that helps security and IT teams simplify operations and respond faster. Since then, we’ve continuously innovated and learned alongside our customers. They consistently tell ...

Pushing passkeys forward: Microsoft’s latest updates for simpler, safer sign-ins

Happy World Passkey Day! As the world shifts from passwords to passkeys, we’re excited to join the FIDO Alliance in leaving “World Password Day” behind to celebrate the very first “World Passkey Day.” To commemorate this renaming, Microsoft and dozens of other organizations have taken the Passkey...

Windows 11 enables security by design from the chip to the cloud

Over the last year, PCs have kept us connected to family, friends, and enabled businesses to continue to run. This new hybrid work paradigm has got us thinking about how we will continue to deliver the best possible quality, experience, and security for the more than 1 billion people who use...

Minimize cybersecurity risk with Software Asset Management

This post is authored by Patama Chantaruck, General Manager of Worldwide Software Asset Management & Compliance. By 2021, worldwide cybercrime damage is expected to reach $6 trilliondouble what it cost businesses in 2015. Unapproved apps, unmanaged devices, poor password protection, and other...

Post-quantum authentication: Why organizations should start testing certificate ecosystems now

In this article 1. Why post-quantum authentication presents a different challenge 2. Why organizations should begin preparing now 3. Microsoft's perspective on readiness 4. Testing the future certificate ecosystem 5. Expanding end-to-end testing 6. What organizations can do today 7. Looking ahead...

Preparing governments for an era of interconnected cyber risk

According to this year’s Microsoft Digital Defense Report, government agencies and services were the sector most impacted by cyber threats in 2026, accounting for 27% of observed activity, up from 17% in 2025. Governments are also the most frequently targeted sectors for nation-state activity. Th...

Storm-3168: Agentic-driven cloud attacks using compromised service principals

In this article 1. Attack overview 2. Technical analysis 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. References 5. Learn More Microsoft Security Research has identified malicious cloud activity associated with JADEPUFFER, a threat actor discovered by Sysdig in July 2026 and reported to be the first...

Charting the future of SOC: Human and AI collaboration for better security

Security operations centers are under pressure from unprecedented scale and complexity. Speed, precision, and consistency matter more than ever, and AI is everywhere—but hype alone doesn’t solve the challenge. This blog shares our journey and insights from building autonomous AI agents for MDR...

Learn how to build an AI-powered, unified SOC in new Microsoft e-book

The sheer volume of cyberattacks continues to increase at a breathtaking scale worldwide, with customers facing more than 600 million cybercriminal and nation-state attacks every day.1 To stem the growing tide of malicious cyber activity takes a commitment from all of us—individuals from operatio...

Meet the Deputy CISOs who help shape Microsoft’s approach to cybersecurity: Part 3

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...

Pushing passkeys forward: Microsoft’s latest updates for simpler, safer sign-ins

Happy World Passkey Day! As the world shifts from passwords to passkeys, we’re excited to join the FIDO Alliance in leaving “World Password Day” behind to celebrate the very first “World Passkey Day.” To commemorate this renaming, Microsoft and dozens of other organizations have taken the Passkey...

AI innovation requires AI security: Hear what’s new at Microsoft Secure

When you’re secure—innovation happens. But, the fast pace of AI often outpaces traditional security measures, leaving gaps that bad actors can take advantage of. As a security professional, you’re the hero in this battle between protecting vast amounts of data while ensuring AI systems remain...

Phishing campaign impersonates Booking .com, delivers a suite of credential-stealing malware

Starting in December 2024, leading up to some of the busiest travel days, Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a phishing campaign that impersonates online travel agency Booking.com and targets organizations in the hospitality industry. The campaign uses a social engineering technique called...

How to secure edge AI in customer-owned environments

In this article 1. Edge AI changes the trust model for AI systems 2. Constrain model actions through deterministic mediation 3. Establish trust before releasing sensitive assets 4. Verify runtime before releasing sensitive assets 5. Verify artifacts that shape model behavior 6. Next steps Edge AI...

Advance Zero Trust for AI: New tools and guidance to secure AI agents and DevSecOps

The calculus of cybersecurity has changed. AI is reshaping how organizations build, deploy, operate, and defend digital systems. AI-powered development tools, agents, and autonomous workflows are accelerating innovation but they are also introducing new attack surfaces, new trust boundaries, and...

Stronger together: New Beazley collaboration enhances cyber resilience

Today’s cyberthreat landscape demands more than technical expertise: it requires a unified response team of technical responders, insurers, brokers, and legal counsel. This integrated approach is key to building long-term cyber resilience to help your organization anticipate, withstand, recover...

ASCII smuggling crosses over from AI prompt injection to phishing evasion

In this article 1. What is ASCII smuggling? 2. Writing a practical ASCII-smuggling signature 3. What we observed: ASCII smuggling repurposed for phishing 4. What is known and what is new 5. Is there a detection gap? 6. Mitigation and protection guidance 7. References 8. Learn More Microsoft...

Impersonating IT support: how threat actors turn a remote session into enterprise-wide access

In this article 1. Risk to enterprise environments 2. Attack chain overview 3. Mitigation and response recommendations 4. Learn more Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed a human-operated intrusion campaign that abuses Microsoft Teams external collaboration to impersonate IT or helpdesk...

A new era of agents, a new era of posture

The rise of AI Agents marks one of the most exciting shifts in technology today. Unlike traditional applications or cloud resources, these agents are not passive components- they reason, make decisions, invoke tools, and interact with other agents and systems on behalf of users. This autonomy...

New XCSSET malware adds new obfuscation, persistence techniques to infect Xcode projects

Microsoft Threat Intelligence has uncovered a new variant of XCSSET, a sophisticated modular macOS malware that infects Xcode projects, in the wild during routine threat hunting. Its first known variant since 2022, this latest XCSSET malware features enhanced obfuscation methods, updated...