Microsoft issues warning over “opportunistic” cyber criminals targeting big business
Category:Industry News / Research & Tools
Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report highlights the dominance of financially motivated threats, with over half of investigated incidents tied to extortion/ransomware and a surge in identity attacks driven by password spraying and infostealers. The report notes accelerating nation‑state activity, increased operationalization of disclosed vulnerabilities, and the role of AI in scaling phishing and malware operations.
CORTEX Protocol Intelligence Assessment
Business Impact: Enterprises face rising monetized attacks coupled with credential abuse. Technical Context: Off‑the‑shelf tooling and AI improve adversary efficiency; password‑centric identity attacks dominate.
Strategic Intelligence Guidance
- Adopt phishing‑resistant MFA and tighten conditional access.
- Continuously rotate and vault secrets; hunt for infostealer residue.
- Prioritize patch velocity on internet‑facing assets.
- Instrument identity threat detection and response (ITDR).
Vendors
Threats
Targets
Intelligence Source: Microsoft issues warning over “opportunistic” cyber criminals targeting big business | IT Pro | Oct 21, 2025