Microsoft has warned of an uptick in zero-day attacks in its latest global threat landscape released earlier this month. The report states that cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure have doubled and now account for roughly 20% of all nation state attacks. Additionally, attacks against critical infrastructure now account for roughly 40% of all attacks that the company detected. Microsoft attributes this increase to geopolitical events occurring around the world over the past year that have triggered a sharp increase in nation-state activity. These attacks are specifically targeting IT companies, government agencies, news organizations, cryptocurrency firms, and religious groups.
Microsoft also stated that the nation state actor’s tactics are shifting and Microsoft recently recorded an uptick in the use of zero-day exploits to launch the attacks. Microsoft noted that the spike in attacks could be caused by an increase in activity from Russia-backed threat groups due to the country’s war in Ukraine. Microsoft also indicated that some of the attacks it identified specifically targeted Ukrainian infrastructure. Additionally, attacks against the US and other NATO member countries were focused on espionage-related goals, Microsoft says.
Read More: Microsoft Warns on Zero-Day Spike as Nation-State Groups Shift Tactics
