Microsoft recently released the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024, this year’s edition of the company’s annual cybersecurity report. In the 114-page document, Microsoft reveals — among other things — just how much cyber threats have grown over the past year.
Cybercriminals have gained access to better resources, including the incorporation of AI tools to bolster their arsenal. They’re now better equipped to create fake images, videos, and audio recordings to trick people, to flood job applications with AI-created “perfect” résumés to physically access companies, and much more.
But hackers can also use your use of AI services to attack you. For example, they can use cross-prompt injection attacks (XPIA) to send fake input to the AI tools you use, which allows them to take over your computer or steal your personal data.
According to the report, Microsoft customers are exposed to over 600 million cyber attacks daily, which range from ransomware and phishing to various forms of identity theft. More than 99 percent of all these attacks are password-based, showing the importance of using a reliable password manager and even moving away from passwords altogether.
Of course, it’s not just private users who are exposed to these attacks; they also target government agencies, companies, and organizations. The US healthcare system alone is said to have suffered 389 successful cyber attacks this fiscal year, leading to various network and system shutdowns and delays in important medical procedures.
And it’s not just ordinary cybercriminals who are carrying out all these attacks. Microsoft reveals that state actors have become increasingly aggressive in cyberspace, especially to influence campaigns ahead of this year’s US presidential election. The company identifies Iran, China, and Russia as the main drivers of state-sponsored cyber attacks.
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Overall, Microsoft’s security report reveals that the line between ordinary criminals and state-sponsored hackers is growing increasingly blurred. Countries are collaborating with cybercriminals to both gather information and carry out cyber attacks for simple financial gain.
Lastly, Microsoft reports that in the second half of the fiscal year, the company managed to stop about 1.25 million distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, a fourfold increase compared to the previous year.
One of the main conclusions of this year’s security report? According to Microsoft, it will take international cooperation between like-minded countries to counter the growing number of cyber threats.
Further reading: You need to be aware of these phishing scams
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC för Alla and was translated and localized from Swedish.