Microsoft Releases First in a Series of New Cybersecurity Intelligence Briefings Amid Rising Cyber Attacks

Microsoft has launched the first in a series of cybersecurity intelligence briefings to support enterprises, amid growing concerns over a considerable rise in ransomware and cybercriminal activity globally in 2021.

More than 35 billion phishing and 9 billion malware threats were blocked by Microsoft Defender solutions on behalf of Enterprise customers last year, according to the first quarterly report. Additionally, Microsoft detected and blocked more than 25.6 billion attempts to hijack enterprise customer accounts by brute-forcing stolen passwords, between January and December 2021.

Data captured within the intelligence briefing highlights that Digital Identity is the new battleground for cybercriminals and that the lack of defences are leaving many small and large organisations open to attack.

According to the analysis, cyberattacks by nation-state actors are on the rise. Despite their vast resources, these adversaries often rely on simple tactics to steal easily guessed passwords. By doing so, they can gain fast and easy access to customer accounts. In the case of enterprise attacks, penetrating an organisation’s network allows nation-state actors to access more valuable credentials and resources.

The most recent Irish data captured in the Microsoft Digital Defense Report shows 58% of all cyber-attacks in the last year were perpetrated by Nation States. Ireland is also number one in the world when it comes to ransomware encounters, based on size. ?The report also shows that Manufacturing and Financial Services are the two most targeted industries globally, both of which have considerable footprints in Ireland.

Responding to the data, Director of Solutions at Microsoft Ireland Des Ryan believes Irish enterprises need to adopt greater cyber security defences by enabling two-factor identification, auditing privileged access accounts and establishing and reviewing a security baseline to reduce risk.

Commenting on the new intelligence briefings he said: “As we analyse the data at our fingertips from the last year, it is clear that Irish businesses are just as susceptible to cyber-attacks as larger nations. Factoring in our size, Ireland tops the chart dramatically in relation to ransomware attacks. We have a lot to do to build better defences for our infrastructure here in Ireland, starting with very basic measures which can protect against 98% of attacks

“Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Intelligence briefing will be released quarterly and offer an expert perspective into the current threat landscape, discussing trending tactics, techniques, and strategies used by the world’s most prolific threat actors. As such, we hope it’s a valuable resource for business leaders and their teams, as they continue to evolve technologies, policies, and processes against the constantly changing threat landscape.”

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