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...

CVE-2026-31431: Copy Fail vulnerability enables Linux root privilege escalation across cloud environments

In this article 1. Vulnerability details 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender XDR detections 4. References 5. Learn more Microsoft Defender is investigating a high-severity local privilege escalation vulnerability CVE-2026-31431 affecting multiple major Linux distributions...

CVE-2026-31431: Copy Fail vulnerability enables Linux root privilege escalation across cloud environments

In this article 1. Vulnerability details 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender XDR detections 4. References 5. Learn more Microsoft Defender is investigating a high-severity local privilege escalation vulnerability CVE-2026-31431 affecting multiple major Linux distributions...

Microsoft Agent 365, now generally available, expands capabilities and integrations

Microsoft Agent 365 Now generally available for commercial customers. Connect with your Microsoft 365 expert Choose an ecosystem partner for agent security and governance AI agents aren’t coming—they’re already in your environment. They show up in places you expect like Microsoft Copilot, Microso...

What’s new, updated, or recently released in Microsoft Security

New capabilities in Microsoft Agent 365; new Microsoft Defender and GitHub integration At Microsoft, security innovations are purpose-built to help every organization protect end-to-end with the speed and scale of AI. Our vision is simple: security should be ambient and autonomous, just like the ...

What’s new, updated, or recently released in Microsoft Security

New capabilities in Microsoft Agent 365; new Microsoft Defender and GitHub integration At Microsoft, security innovations are purpose-built to help every organization protect end-to-end with the speed and scale of AI. Our vision is simple: security should be ambient and autonomous, just like the ...

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...

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...

8 best practices for CISOs conducting risk reviews

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...

8 best practices for CISOs conducting risk reviews

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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,...

Cross‑tenant helpdesk impersonation to data exfiltration: A human-operated intrusion playbook

In this article 1. Risk to enterprise environments 2. Attack chain overview 1. Stage 1: Initial contact via Teams T1566.003 Spearphishing via Service 2. Stage 2: Remote assistance foothold 3. Stage 3: Interactive reconnaissance and access validation 4. Stage 4: Payload placement and trusted...

Cross‑tenant helpdesk impersonation to data exfiltration: A human-operated intrusion playbook

In this article 1. Risk to enterprise environments 2. Attack chain overview 1. Stage 1: Initial contact via Teams T1566.003 Spearphishing via Service 2. Stage 2: Remote assistance foothold 3. Stage 3: Interactive reconnaissance and access validation 4. Stage 4: Payload placement and trusted...

Containing a domain compromise: How predictive shielding shut down lateral movement

In this article 1. Predictive shielding overview 2. Attack chain overview 3. How predictive shielding changed the outcome 4. MITRE ATT&CK® techniques observed 5. Learn more In identity-based attack campaigns, any initial access activity can turn an already serious intrusion into a critical incide...

Containing a domain compromise: How predictive shielding shut down lateral movement

In this article 1. Predictive shielding overview 2. Attack chain overview 3. How predictive shielding changed the outcome 4. MITRE ATT&CK® techniques observed 5. Learn more In identity-based attack campaigns, any initial access activity can turn an already serious intrusion into a critical incide...

Building your cryptographic inventory: A customer strategy for cryptographic posture management

Post-quantum cryptography PQC is coming—and for most organizations, the hardest part won’t be choosing new algorithms. It will be finding where cryptography is used today across applications, infrastructure, devices, and services so teams can plan, prioritize, and modernize with confidence. At...

Building your cryptographic inventory: A customer strategy for cryptographic posture management

Post-quantum cryptography PQC is coming—and for most organizations, the hardest part won’t be choosing new algorithms. It will be finding where cryptography is used today across applications, infrastructure, devices, and services so teams can plan, prioritize, and modernize with confidence. At...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The agentic SOC—Rethinking SecOps for the next decade

Every major shift in cyberattacker behavior over the past decade has followed a meaningful shift in how defenders operate. When security operation centers SOCs deployed endpoint detection and response EDR—and later extended detection and response XDR—security teams raised the bar, pushing...

The agentic SOC—Rethinking SecOps for the next decade

Every major shift in cyberattacker behavior over the past decade has followed a meaningful shift in how defenders operate. When security operation centers SOCs deployed endpoint detection and response EDR—and later extended detection and response XDR—security teams raised the bar, pushing...

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...

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...

Intent redirection vulnerability in third-party SDK exposed millions of Android wallets to potential risk

In this article 1. Technical details 2. Disclosure timeline 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. References 5. Learn more During routine security research, we identified a severe intent redirection vulnerability in a widely used third-party Android SDK called EngageSDK. This flaw allows apps ...

Intent redirection vulnerability in third-party SDK exposed millions of Android wallets to potential risk

In this article 1. Technical details 2. Disclosure timeline 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. References 5. Learn more During routine security research, we identified a severe intent redirection vulnerability in a widely used third-party Android SDK called EngageSDK. This flaw allows apps ...

SOHO router compromise leads to DNS hijacking and adversary-in-the-middle attacks

In this article 1. DNS hijacking attack chain: From compromised devices to AiTM and other follow-on activity 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender detection and hunting guidance Executive summary Forest Blizzard, a threat actor linked to the Russian military, has been...

SOHO router compromise leads to DNS hijacking and adversary-in-the-middle attacks

In this article 1. DNS hijacking attack chain: From compromised devices to AiTM and other follow-on activity 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender detection and hunting guidance Executive summary Forest Blizzard, a threat actor linked to the Russian military, has been...

Inside an AI‑enabled device code phishing campaign

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Indicators of compromise IOC 4. References 5. Learn more Microsoft Defender Security Research has observed a widespread phishing campaign leveraging the Device Code Authentication flow to compromise organizational...

Inside an AI‑enabled device code phishing campaign

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Indicators of compromise IOC 4. References 5. Learn more Microsoft Defender Security Research has observed a widespread phishing campaign leveraging the device code authentication flow to compromise organizational...

Storm-1175 focuses gaze on vulnerable web-facing assets in high-tempo Medusa ransomware operations

In this article 1. Storm-1175’s rapid attack chain: From initial access to impact 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Microsoft Defender detections 4. Indicators of compromise The financially motivated cybercriminal actor tracked by Microsoft Threat Intelligence as Storm-1175 operates...

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...

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...

Cookie-controlled PHP webshells: A stealthy tradecraft in Linux hosting environments

In this article 1. Cookie-controlled execution behavior 2. Observed variants of cookie-controlled PHP web shells 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. Microsoft Defender XDR detections 5. Microsoft Security Copilot prompts 6. Microsoft Defender XDR threat analytics 7. MITRE ATT&CK™ Techniques...

Cookie-controlled PHP webshells: A stealthy tradecraft in Linux hosting environments

In this article 1. Cookie-controlled execution behavior 2. Observed variants of cookie-controlled PHP web shells 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. Microsoft Defender XDR detections 5. Microsoft Security Copilot prompts 6. Microsoft Defender XDR threat analytics 7. MITRE ATT&CK™ Techniques...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Applying security fundamentals to AI: Practical advice for CISOs

What to know about the era of AI The first thing to know is that AI isn’t magic The best way to think about how to effectively use and secure a modern AI system is to imagine it like a very new, very junior person. It’s very smart and eager to help but can also be extremely unintelligent. Like a...

Applying security fundamentals to AI: Practical advice for CISOs

What to know about the era of AI The first thing to know is that AI isn’t magic The best way to think about how to effectively use and secure a modern AI system is to imagine it like a very new, very junior person. It’s very smart and eager to help but can also be extremely unintelligent. Like a...

WhatsApp malware campaign delivers VBScript and MSI backdoors

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Hunting queries 4. Indicators of compromise Microsoft Defender Experts observed a campaign beginning in late February 2026 that uses WhatsApp messages to deliver malicious Visual Basic Script VBS files. Once execute...

WhatsApp malware campaign delivers VBScript and MSI backdoors

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 2. Mitigation and protection guidance 3. Hunting queries 4. Indicators of compromise Microsoft Defender Experts observed a campaign beginning in late February 2026 that uses WhatsApp messages to deliver malicious Visual Basic Script VBS files. Once execute...