Launching the expanded AI Classroom Toolkit with Cyberlite during Global Media and Information Literacy Week 

AI is opening new pathways to information, giving people faster access to answers, ideas, and knowledge. At the same time, it’s making it harder to know whether the content we see is authentic. 

Companies that build AI have a responsibility to make it reliable and trustworthy, and that responsibility doesn’t shift to the people who use it. But AI is already shaping how people search, learn, and encounter information. Helping people navigate that reality means building media and AI literacy (MAIL): the judgment to decide whether and how to use AI and what information to trust. These skills are as foundational as AI safety, and educators are asking for help teaching them. 

That’s why, during Global Media and Information Literacy Week, we’re launching the expanded AI Classroom Toolkit: Unlocking Generative AI Safely and Responsibly, created with the online safety organization Cyberlite. It’s part of Microsoft’s broader commitment to make sure AI strengthens human thinking rather than replaces it. It also reflects Microsoft’s focus on education and empowerment, a core pillar of our Safe Participation Framework. 

What’s new in the AI Classroom Toolkit

The expanded toolkit adds a deeper focus on critical thinking, verification, and media and AI literacy, helping students judge AI outputs and make informed decisions about what to trust online. Together with the original modules, it’s now a single, classroom-ready resource that covers the core of AI safety and literacy. Realistic, scenario-based lessons and activities help students practice these skills in situations they may encounter online: 

• The Climate Campaign: Gina enters an online challenge to make a campaign for a cause she cares about and finds that some winning entries use AI to show events that never happened. Students sort a feed of real and AI-made posts and practice lateral reading. The lesson: whether a post was made with AI doesn’t decide whether it’s trustworthy. What it claims, and who is behind it, does. 

• The Helpful Bot: Alex creates an AI help bot inside his online game, then catches it inventing details and collecting players’ personal information. Students learn why AI can get things wrong, how to trace claims to reliable sources, and why they’re responsible for AI-generated content they act on or share. 

• What Kind of AI User Are You?: An interactive quiz, hosted by Cyberlite, helps students identify their AI habits, strengths, and potential blind spots, and gives them an AI Type to reflect on and discuss. 

“When we created the first Classroom Toolkit: Unlocking Generative AI Safely and Responsibly with Microsoft in 2023, most of the conversation was about using AI safely. Today, the questions young people ask about AI have grown sharper and more personal, like what to believe online or how far to trust a chatbot’s answer,” said Michelle Yao, cofounder of Cyberlite. 

The toolkit also reflects what young people in our co-design sessions with Cyberlite told us: they want to learn by doing, through games, real-life scenarios, and peer discussion. Teachers don’t need to be AI experts, and students don’t need an AI tool in hand to start. 

That approach builds on the reach and results of the original toolkit. Since 2023, the first version has reached educators in 10 countries and 11 languages, including through government and partner learning platforms. In South Korea, 93% of participating educators reported improved knowledge and understanding of ethical issues, privacy, and bias related to AI. 

“Our hope is that every student leaves a little surer of their own judgment, and that everyone feels more confident deciding how AI fits into their lives,” said Yao. 

Literacy works alongside product design and policy

Education is one part of the equation. Our commitment to media and AI literacy also shows up in how we design products and the policies we support.  

Last month, we set out five principles for AI in education, including “AI designed to support students’ learning, not replace their thinking.” We also committed to enforceable privacy, safety, and transparency protections for qualifying educational AI products in US school districts. These protections help schools and families understand how these tools work and the controls available to them. 

Media and AI literacy is now a global priority

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has released a framework for a MAIL assessment beginning in 2029. As part of its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), it will examine how students reflect on, analyze, and evaluate information, including AI-generated information. This week in New Delhi, UNESCO is also launching an AI extension of its “Think Critically, Click Wisely” global curriculum, which Microsoft advised on. 

This growing global focus makes the need for support urgent—educators want help, and many aren’t getting it. In Microsoft’s 2026 AI in Education report, 53% of educators and 77% of students say they haven’t had AI training.  

Closing this skills gap matters beyond the classroom. Healthy societies depend on a shared basis of facts, informed public debate, and confident civic participation. As authenticity gets harder to judge, there’s a risk that people start doubting everything, creating what the Digital Inquiry Group calls a “dangerous declaration of permanent uncertainty.” MAIL offers a way through. It builds the confidence to decide what to trust. 

Media and AI literacy for every age

Across Microsoft, we’re helping people build these skills wherever they learn and find information: 

• In classrooms: Students debate whether to accept, question, or rework an AI tool’s answers in an AI and Critical Thinking lesson from The Economist Educational Foundation, supported by Microsoft. Available alongside other media literacy lessons in Microsoft Learning Zone, the lesson has reached students in 116 countries. 

• Through play: Millions of players have checked sources, spotted bias, and cracked cases of AI misuse in Minecraft Education’s The Investigators and Reed Smart: AI Detective. 

• For content creators: UNESCO, with Microsoft’s support, is developing resources to help creator associations train their members in MAIL and is testing them with creators in Nairobi this week.  

• For voters: Check. Recheck. Vote. helps people apply AI literacy to election information. 

• In our products: Search Progress, built with input from the Digital Inquiry Group, turns research assignments into source-checking practice in Microsoft Teams for Education. 

What’s next 

Through Microsoft Elevate for Educators and local partners, we’ll bring the AI Classroom Toolkit to new audiences, with more languages and localized content rolling out through 2027. We’ll keep evolving it as technology and educators’ needs change. 

Explore the toolkit and supporting resources for educators today.  

AI will keep changing how people find information and the content they encounter. Our goal is to help people meet that change with confident, informed judgment about the AI they use and the information they trust so they can fully take part in civic and democratic life. 

The post In an age of AI, deciding what to trust is a foundational skill. Here’s how we’re helping educators teach it. appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

The rapid diffusion of AI globally and the pace at which AI is developing put us at a societal crossroads. The choices we’re making now will determine who has access to AI and the opportunity it affords. There is perhaps no more important tool than our education systems for addressing the uneven diffusion of AI we’re seeing currently: national adoption runs above 70% in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and falls to low single digits across much of sub-Saharan Africa, close to a tenfold difference. 

The way we teach AI and learn with it will have long-lasting impacts on jobs, the workforce, and our broader economy. Learning Curves: Rethinking Education from Classrooms to Careers in an AI-Driven World is a collection of research-driven essays that can help guide those choices. This book brings together the body of work from the second cohort of Senior Fellows from the Microsoft AI Economy Institute (AIEI), a flagship think tank that produces research and convenes experts to generate insights into how AI is reshaping work, education, and the broader economy. 

In Learning Curves, researchers consider how AI is reshaping the earliest stages of learning and work, from K–12 classrooms and community and technical colleges to college‑to‑work transitions and entry‑level jobs, and what it will take for that transformation to widen opportunity rather than deepen divides across institutions, communities, and countries.  

Below, I share a few of my own reflections that informed my contributions to Learning Curves, a collaborative effort that wouldn’t have been possible without the truly talented, diverse cohort of researchers who contributed to this book.  

The good, the bad, and the ugly: Laying the foundation for AI in K–12 classrooms

Before delving into the specifics of how to incorporate AI in classrooms, we need to ask ourselves whether we’re teaching for knowledge, or for learning.  

The book, the calculator, the personal computer, the internet, the search engine, and the smartphone all arrived in classrooms carrying real promise alongside the worry that they would hollow out young minds. Usually the truth landed somewhere in between, and where it landed depended less on the tool than on the choices the adults made about how to use it. 

The fact is that the AI-native generation is already here, and its members are in classrooms around the world. More than half of US teenagers already use AI chatbots for schoolwork. I’ve personally seen the promise of AI as a force for good in education up close in my own classroom, where I teach a computer science class to elementary school students.  

But of course, the good is only part of the story. We can’t shy away from the downsides of incorporating AI into classrooms. While AI can help with accessibility and individualized learning, it can also create over–reliance, contribute to student cheating, or prevent students from recognizing when information may be false. 

The rapid deployment of AI in K–12 classrooms needs to come with a sober assessment of how that technology impacts all students. This assessment must go beyond the technology itself to encompass how students, teachers, parents, and society use AI.   

AI literacy is only part of the solution

If classrooms are where students learn how to think, teachers are the conduit through which this learning happens. In Learning Curves, Joseph Orero, Senior Researcher in AI at Strathmore University’s School of Computing and Engineering Science, posits that teachers aren’t resistant to AI in classrooms; they just need proper training to help them adequately adapt and teach their students critical skills. His research contribution explores game-based learning with AI-enabled African languages. 

AI usage and adoption worldwide are also dependent on accessibility. Another chapter of the book looks at barriers and opportunities in Arabic education and finds that the primary barrier teachers encountered when introducing AI writing assistants into classrooms was Arabic digital literacy, particularly students’ typing ability.  

Researchers often circled around a similar theme: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing AI competency; instead, such an approach must be sensitive to local knowledge and contextualized teaching and learning practices. This means that teachers, in turn, must have training that makes sense for the unique contexts in which their students are learning.  

Frank Nagle, now Microsoft’s Chief AI Economist, Sarah Rodriguez, Associate Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, and other researchers in Learning Curves make the case that, in many ways, nontraditional pathways such as apprenticeships and two-year-degree programs, particularly those that are virtual, are more nimble and thus better able to adapt their curricula to the rapidly changing field of AI.  

AI Is taught in the classroom, but then what?

Education has never been about simply preparing people for the future of work so they can thrive in the labor market. When considered holistically, it is about teaching students not what to think but how to think. In our AI era, education is one of the core institutions through which the future of work will be built, distributed, and made more (or less) equitable. Successful AI integration remains human-centered by focusing on organizational change, durable human skills like empathy and judgment, strong employer partnerships, and learner needs. 

As research from Laura Nuriski, Head of Program on the Future of Work at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), highlights, access to AI alone does not ensure successful integration. Technology transfer, data infrastructure, organizational readiness, and a human-centered approach to building and deploying AI are also key indicators of success.  

Whether we’re talking about the classroom or the boardroom, it’s worth keeping in mind that AI tends to do the most good when it strengthens human capability and the most harm when it substitutes for it. That holds as true in a fourth- grade reading lesson as in a software team or a hospital ward. 

The children in our schools deserve tools that serve their learning rather than stand in for it, and that is within our power to provide. Our most successful future with AI will be one that is human-centered, inclusive, and designed to help people thrive. 

The post Learning Curves: The future of education, from classrooms to careers, in an AI-driven world appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Joint Disruption Week: The Results

Disrupting the Infrastructure Behind Online Fraud

Continuing Efforts to Disrupt Scam Networks

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More than 3.7 million fraudulent online accounts removed. Twenty-eight arrests across Ghana and Nigeria. More than $11 million in potentially freezable funds identified. And 117 human trafficking victims identified.

These were among the results of Joint Disruption Week, an international operation targeting criminal networks responsible for online fraud, including cryptocurrency investment scams, impersonation schemes, and financial extortion.

“Transnational criminal scam networks operating from West Africa suffered major disruptions last week during a coordinated international ‘Joint Disruption Week,’ an effort that produced arrests, seizures, and the largest-ever takedown of fraudulent social media accounts linked to scam centers in the region.”

Department of Justice

Hosted by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in London during the week beginning October 6, 2026, Joint Disruption Week brought together investigators from the DOJ, FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and international law enforcement agencies, alongside private-sector organizations including Flashpoint.

Throughout the week, participants exchanged real-time intelligence and developed investigative leads to support enforcement actions in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as the disruption of online accounts and infrastructure used by scam networks.

The operation targeted criminal organizations whose activities extend across borders and online platforms. According to the DOJ, scam centers operating in West Africa share characteristics with those previously identified in Southeast Asia, including organized recruitment, training in social engineering techniques, and coordinated fraud campaigns targeting victims internationally. Some operations also involve human trafficking, with individuals coerced into participating in fraudulent activities.

By bringing together law enforcement and private-sector capabilities, Joint Disruption Week targeted both the infrastructure used to perpetrate fraud and the individuals behind these schemes.

Joint Disruption Week: The Results

The coordinated effort produced results across criminal investigations, financial intelligence, and online infrastructure disruption.

According to the DOJ:

• 28 suspects were arrested, including 19 in Ghana and nine in Nigeria.
• More than 3.7 million fraudulent accounts, Pages, and Groups were removed from online platforms.
• 117 human trafficking victims were identified in Ghana, awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
• 89 fraud victims were identified in Ghana, associated with approximately $8.3 million in reported financial losses.
• More than $11 million in potentially freezable funds were identified through private-sector investigative efforts.
• More than 30 suspected scam centers were referred to law enforcement for further investigation.
• 356 electronic devices were seized during enforcement actions in Ghana and Nigeria.

The figures illustrate the reach of these operations. Millions of accounts can support criminal activity across multiple platforms, while the individuals directing those activities may be operating thousands of miles from their intended victims.

Disrupting the Infrastructure Behind Online Fraud

The arrests and account removals represent different aspects of the same challenge: identifying the individuals behind criminal operations while disrupting the infrastructure they use to reach victims.

Online scam networks can operate across social media platforms, messaging services, and financial systems, with evidence of criminal activity spread across multiple organizations and jurisdictions. Investigations often depend on connecting information from these different sources to identify the actors involved and the infrastructure supporting their operations.

During Joint Disruption Week, private-sector partners contributed by removing fraudulent accounts, identifying potentially recoverable funds, and sharing investigative leads with law enforcement.

Flashpoint was among the organizations specifically recognized by the DOJ for participating in the operation, alongside Meta, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Coinbase, Binance, Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM Labs, and others. For threat intelligence teams, operations like this highlight the value of identifying criminal actors, understanding how their operations are structured, and connecting activity across disparate sources to support investigative action.

“These scam networks operate like businesses, investing in infrastructure, recruiting people, and developing increasingly sophisticated ways to defraud victims at scale. To meaningfully disrupt them, we have to go after the economics of their operations, making it more costly and difficult to recruit, reach victims, and move illicit funds. The more pressure we put on those operations, the harder it becomes for the criminals behind them to sustain and expand their activities.”

Josh LefkowitzCEO, Flashpoint

Together, the arrests, account removals, and financial investigations demonstrate how coordinated efforts can target multiple components of criminal operations, from the infrastructure used to perpetrate fraud to the individuals responsible.

Continuing Efforts to Disrupt Scam Networks

Joint Disruption Week marked the first coordinated international operation focused specifically on West African scam networks, according to the DOJ.

The arrests, infrastructure disruptions, and investigative leads generated during the operation represent progress against criminal organizations responsible for large-scale financial fraud and human exploitation.

Flashpoint continues to support efforts to identify and disrupt criminal activity through primary source intelligence that helps investigators understand emerging threats and the networks behind them.

For additional information on the operation and its results, read the full Department of Justice announcement.

The post Inside Joint Disruption Week: 28 Arrests and 3.7 Million Scam Accounts Removed appeared first on Flashpoint.

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Operational Challenges Are Putting Pressure on Analyst Capacity

Threat Intelligence Investment Remains Resilient Heading Into 2027

AI-Related Threats Are Driving New Coverage Priorities

Agentic AI Adoption Is Underway

What the Findings Mean for Threat Intelligence Programs

Methodology

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Threat intelligence teams are heading into 2027 with more than ever to monitor, driven by an acceleration in the AI threat landscape. However, their expanded mandate typically doesn’t come with a proportional budget windfall. Instead, teams are under pressure to get greater value from the intelligence, systems, and analyst expertise already available to them.

New independent research commissioned by Flashpoint shows where that pressure is being felt most. Alert noise and false positives are the most frequently cited challenges affecting threat intelligence program effectiveness, followed by analyst bandwidth, changes in the threat landscape, and integration across security tools. At the same time, AI-related threats have emerged as the leading area where practitioners want to expand intelligence coverage.

These findings point to some of the decisions that will shape threat intelligence programs in the year ahead: where to focus finite analyst capacity, how intelligence requirements need to evolve, and where AI can meaningfully support the work. Organizations are already evaluating agentic AI across threat intelligence workflows, but the research also shows that greater autonomy comes with higher expectations around accuracy, control, and measurable value.

For security leaders planning their 2027 threat intelligence strategy and budgets, this report examines:

• Which operational challenges are putting the greatest pressure on analyst capacity and threat intelligence programs today.
• How intelligence requirements are changing as AI-enabled threats create new coverage priorities.
• How threat intelligence budgets are trending in the next 12 months, and where incremental budgets will go.
• Where practitioners see the strongest applications for agentic AI, and which AI-powered workflows face a higher threshold for trust and autonomy.
• What teams need to prove before expanding AI investment, including the metrics practitioners are using to evaluate time savings, accuracy, risk reduction, and ROI.

Together, the findings provide a practical benchmark for teams evaluating their own intelligence operations: where to focus limited analyst time, where automation may have the greatest impact, and what to measure as AI becomes part of the workflow.

Executive Summary

As threat intelligence teams plan for 2027, the research shows them managing two simultaneous pressures: intelligence requirements are expanding, while the capacity available to address them remains constrained. AI is intensifying that pressure as adversaries adopt new capabilities, but also becoming part of how organizations are thinking about scaling their ability to defend their organizations.

“2027 will test whether threat intelligence programs can scale their reach as fast as AI is reshaping the threat landscape. The opportunity for agentic AI on the defensive side is significant, and our research shows security leaders are ready to invest. But they aren’t swayed by the hype. They’re holding agentic AI to a high bar, and they want to know where it improves their work, whether they can trust the output, and where human judgment must remain part of the process.”

Josh Lefkowitz
Co-Founder and CEO, Flashpoint

Four findings stand out:

• The AI threat landscape is accelerating faster than threat intelligence teams can keep up. Alert noise and false positives were the most frequently cited challenge, identified by 65% of respondents, while 55% cited insufficient analyst bandwidth and half pointed to integration gaps across their security tools.
• Threat intelligence budgets are rising to close the gap. Half of respondents expect their budgets to increase over the next 12 months, including 35% anticipating meaningful increases of 10% or more. Another 40% expect spending to remain essentially flat. No respondents anticipate a decrease. Where budgets are growing, organizations are directing investment toward areas including AI-related threat coverage, additional intelligence feeds and modules, and broader program development.
• AI-related threats are the leading priority for expanded coverage and new investment. Practitioners pointed to deepfake detection, AI-accelerated vulnerability exploitation, and emerging AI-enabled threat vectors as areas where their intelligence requirements are expanding.
• Agentic AI adoption is underway, but teams are setting a high bar. Just 25% of organizations interviewed are using agentic AI in production today. Another 20% are piloting it, while 35% are planning adoption within the next 12 to 24 months. Rather than rushing toward autonomy, teams are evaluating where agents can improve workflows while maintaining intelligence quality, appropriate controls, and human oversight.

Taken together, the findings show where threat intelligence teams are feeling the greatest pressure, where they see opportunities to extend their capabilities with AI, and what will determine whether those tools earn a lasting place in the intelligence workflow. The sections that follow examine each of these findings in greater detail and what they mean for threat intelligence programs.

Operational Challenges Are Putting Pressure on Analyst Capacity

The rising AI threat landscape is increasing pressure on organizations to get more capacity from the people and systems they already have. Threat intelligence leaders therefore say the biggest barriers to program effectiveness are operational: too much noise, limited analyst bandwidth, and disconnected tools.

Alert noise and false positives emerged as the leading challenge affecting threat intelligence programs, cited by 65% of respondents. Analyst bandwidth followed at 55%, while half of respondents pointed to both the evolving threat landscape and integration gaps across their security tools.

The impact of these challenges becomes clearer at the workflow level. One healthcare practitioner described receiving alerts about email breaches that were seven or eight years old, with the same data resurfacing each time it was resold and requiring another investigation. Practitioners also described manual steps between intelligence feeds, SIEMs, SOAR platforms, ticketing systems, and response workflows.

Each unnecessary investigation or manual handoff consumes time that could otherwise go toward analysis. That becomes difficult to solve through hiring alone because threat intelligence expertise takes time to develop. As one healthcare threat intelligence leader explained:

“Good analysts take time to develop and train, and we can’t hire our way out of that problem.”

The research suggests an opportunity to look for capacity within the intelligence workflow itself. Reducing repetitive investigations, improving integration between systems, and helping analysts identify relevant intelligence faster can return more of their time to work that depends on context and judgment.

Threat Intelligence Investment Remains Resilient Heading Into 2027

The rise of AI-driven threats is driving increases in the intelligence budgets of many organizations. Among respondents who provided a budget outlook, 50% expect their threat intelligence budgets to increase over the next 12 months, while the remaining 40% expect budgets to stay essentially flat. None anticipate a decrease.

More than a third (35%) expect meaningful growth of at least 10%, suggesting that for many organizations, threat intelligence remains an area of active investment heading into 2027.

Where organizations are increasing investment is equally important. Respondents expecting meaningful growth described spending on AI defense capabilities, expanded threat intelligence feeds and modules, and broader program development. AI-related threat coverage also emerged across both flat and growing budgets as the most frequently cited area where teams want to expand coverage.

For teams heading into 2027, the findings suggest that the question is increasingly where to direct threat intelligence investment for the greatest impact. Organizations are evaluating how existing resources can address new intelligence requirements, where additional capabilities are needed, and which investments can demonstrate clear operational value.

AI-Related Threats Are Driving New Coverage Priorities

As organizations decide where to focus threat intelligence investment in the year ahead, AI is the clear priority. AI-related threats were the most frequently cited area where organizations want to expand intelligence coverage, including among teams with relatively flat budgets. Practitioners specifically pointed to deepfake detection, AI-accelerated vulnerability exploitation, and emerging AI-enabled threat vectors.

These priorities reflect activity already visible across the threat landscape. During the first half of 2026, Flashpoint tracked more than 22 million threat actor posts discussing, sharing, or advertising AI toolkits for criminal deployment. Flashpoint analysts observed AI being used across phishing, malware development, evasion, and vulnerability exploitation.

For threat intelligence teams, expanding AI coverage requires more specificity than treating “AI threats” as a single monitoring category. Deepfakes may matter because of executive impersonation or fraud. AI-accelerated exploitation may change vulnerability monitoring and prioritization. New attack tooling may affect the adversaries or TTPs a team already tracks.

The challenge extends beyond visibility into these threats. Organizations also need the expertise to understand how AI is changing adversary behavior and attack chains. That expertise is still developing. As one practitioner put it, “everybody’s learning it at the same time.”

Connecting those developments to existing PIRs and business risks gives analysts clearer collection priorities and helps teams determine what new sources, expertise, and monitoring they actually need.

Those requirements are also expanding at a time when analyst bandwidth is already constrained, creating a second question for threat intelligence leaders: where can AI support the intelligence workflow itself?

Agentic AI Adoption Is Underway

Nearly half of the organizations interviewed are already using or piloting agentic AI in threat intelligence workflows, while another 35% are planning adoption within the next 12 to 24 months. That makes agentic AI an important part of 2027 planning, but despite the attention surrounding it, threat intelligence teams are taking a measured approach. They are looking for clear business value, evidence that AI can maintain the quality of their intelligence workflows, and appropriate human oversight as agents take on more consequential tasks.

The work being handed to agents already varies considerably, from information retrieval and alert prioritization to more active tasks such as blocking IP addresses, updating blacklists, and monitoring suspicious traffic. Organizations in the pilot stage also described use cases spanning detection, validation, context generation, SIEM alert analysis, TIP querying, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and reversible response actions.

As agents move from retrieving and analyzing information to taking actions that can directly affect security operations, accuracy and trust become increasingly important. One respondent captured the concern succinctly:

“An agent that’s confidently wrong is worse than one that’s slow.”

That concern is reflected across the research. Practitioners raised questions around data leakage, auditability, regulatory requirements, cost, and the level of control agents should have over security workflows. One retail respondent, for example, would only consider read-only AI assistants because of the risks associated with granting agents write permissions.

For teams evaluating agentic AI, that makes the workflow itself an important part of the decision. Tasks with reviewable outputs, reversible actions, and clear success criteria provide a practical starting point. As autonomy increases, teams need equally clear controls around what an agent can access, what it can change, where human approval is required, and how its actions are audited.

What the Findings Mean for Threat Intelligence Programs

As threat intelligence leaders plan for 2027, the research points to a clear set of priorities. Teams have more to monitor, limited analyst capacity, and growing interest in AI as a way to scale the work their programs already perform.

The findings also show that practitioners are selective about where they see that value. PIR coverage monitoring and intelligence briefings can extend coverage and reduce recurring work while keeping analysts involved in the intelligence process. As agents take on more consequential actions, questions around accuracy, permissions, auditability, and human oversight become more important.

For teams setting priorities for the year ahead, that creates a practical path forward: understand where analyst capacity is being consumed, connect new intelligence requirements to the risks that matter to the organization, identify workflows where automation can meaningfully extend the team, and establish clear measures of success before deployment.

The challenge for 2027 will be turning expanding intelligence requirements into an operating model that can scale for threat intelligence programs. That means making better use of existing data, systems, and analyst expertise while being deliberate about where agentic AI can extend those capabilities and where human judgment remains essential.

Methodology

Flashpoint commissioned independent qualitative research among a select group of more than 20 threat intelligence budget owners and influencers at large North American enterprises across financial services and insurance, healthcare and biotech, retail, and information technology and telecommunications during the early fall of 2026. 

The post The Enterprise Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 appeared first on Flashpoint.

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

What We Know About CastleStealer

What Data Does CastleStealer Target?

Bypassing App-Bound Encryption

From Infostealer to Remote Access

How CastleStealer Exfiltrates Stolen Data

Protect Against Emerging Infostealers Using Flashpoint

More

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First discovered in April 2026, CastleStealer is a C#-based information-stealing malware that has continued to add new capabilities since its emergence. Newer samples analyzed by Flashpoint can bypass app-bound encryption in Chromium-based browsers, execute commands remotely, and exfiltrate stolen information in small encrypted transmissions rather than a single large archive.

While Flashpoint has not yet identified a large influx of threat actors using CastleStealer, its continued development makes it an emerging threat worth watching. 

What We Know About CastleStealer

CastleStealer was first publicly identified in April 2026, when it was observed using ClickFix social engineering to deliver a Python script that executed a loader referred to as “CastleLoader.”

By June, the malware had appeared in a different distribution campaign. Threat actors used malicious advertisements to direct victims to fake Node.js installation websites, where a batch script masquerading as an installer ultimately downloaded and executed a newer loader known as OXLOADER.

OXLOADER employs several techniques designed to make analysis and detection more difficult, including multiple rounds of self-decryption, obfuscated API resolution, sandbox checks, and in-memory execution. Flashpoint analysts assess that the loaders used to deliver CastleStealer appear to be developed in-house and demonstrate significant technical ability around anti-analysis and stealth. 

But the delivery chain is only one part of CastleStealer’s evolution. Newer samples show that the infostealer itself has continued to expand what it can collect and what threat actors can do after a system is compromised.

What Data Does CastleStealer Target?

Once executed, CastleStealer first checks the system’s Multilingual User Interface (MUI) languages for Russian (ru-RU). It then connects to its command-and-control (C2) infrastructure and sends a handshake packet containing its build UUID and basic information about the infected host. After establishing the connection, it gathers additional information about the victim machine and sends it to the C2. 

From there, CastleStealer begins searching for sensitive information across browsers, applications, and files on the victim’s system.

For Chromium-based browsers, CastleStealer collects login data, cookies, browsing history, web data, and information stored by browser extensions. That includes extension IDs, IndexedDB data, and extension storage. 

The malware also targets:

• Firefox: Login data, cookies, browsing history, and form history.
• Steam: Files including config.vdf, loginusers.vdf, and local.vdf, which can contain sensitive account information and settings.
• Discord and Telegram: CastleStealer searches APPDATA for directories associated with both applications.
• Files on the victim system: The malware broadly collects files while excluding several file types and files containing “backup.” It places particular emphasis on files containing “wallet” in their names.

That browser targeting has also become more capable since CastleStealer was first discovered.

Bypassing App-Bound Encryption

One of the clearest examples of CastleStealer’s evolution is its ability to target data protected by newer browser security controls.

Earlier analysis found that CastleStealer could not steal data from updated browsers using app-bound encryption. Newer samples analyzed by Flashpoint now use Chrome’s IElevator COM interface to bypass that protection, a technique also used by other modern infostealers.

The change closes a meaningful limitation present in earlier CastleStealer samples and expands the browser data available to the malware.

From Infostealer to Remote Access

Newer CastleStealer samples also give threat actors capabilities beyond stealing information from an infected machine.

CastleStealer contains basic remote shell functionality that allows an operator to send a shell command to the victim system, provide a file for execution, or send the URL of another payload that CastleStealer will download and execute. 

That capability gives an attacker additional options after the initial compromise. Instead of ending the operation once targeted information has been collected, an operator can interact with the infected system and introduce additional payloads.

How CastleStealer Exfiltrates Stolen Data

CastleStealer also differs from many other infostealers in how it sends stolen information back to its operators.

Rather than collecting stolen data into an archive and transmitting it to a C2 server or Telegram channel, CastleStealer sends smaller amounts of collected data over raw TCP. The transmissions are encrypted using AES.

Flashpoint analysts assess that transmitting data this way may help CastleStealer avoid network detections associated with a single spike caused by a large data transfer. 

The network packets follow a straightforward structure:

{4-byte size} → {AES IV} → {Encrypted Data}

Once CastleStealer completes its activity, it deletes itself using a common ping-delay self-deletion technique.

Protect Against Emerging Infostealers Using Flashpoint

CastleStealer’s development since its discovery illustrates how quickly an emerging infostealer can mature. Its operators have changed how the malware reaches victims, while the stealer itself has gained the ability to bypass browser protections, remotely execute commands and additional payloads, and exfiltrate stolen data in smaller encrypted transmissions.

CastleStealer has not yet seen the widespread adoption associated with more established infostealer families. But its trajectory makes it one to watch as its developers continue to improve both its collection capabilities and what operators can do after compromising a victim.

Flashpoint continuously monitors emerging malware, illicit communities, and threat actor infrastructure to identify these shifts as they happen. Request a demo to learn how Flashpoint’s primary source intelligence and analyst research help security teams identify emerging threats and respond before they become widespread.

The post CastleStealer: An Emerging Infostealer Growing More Sophisticated appeared first on Flashpoint.

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Flashpoint Industry Leaders, An Extension of Your Team

More Than Just Support

Proven Track Record: Voice of the Customer

Remove Blockers Using Flashpoint

About Forrester

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In today’s threat landscape, speed and actionable context are critical. When a high-priority threat emerges, pairing best-in-class threat intelligence data with hyper-responsive human expertise ensures organizations can act immediately and with confidence. To turn raw threat data into actionable defense, Flashpoint unites unmatched primary source collection, cutting-edge AI features, and over 100 analysts fluent in more than 35 languages—ensuring organizations receive localized context, rapid analysis, and long-lasting strategic value.

Flashpoint Customer Success & Support (CS) consistently delivers industry-leading responsiveness and resolution speed. Driven by strict internal Service Level Objectives (SLOs), our metrics showcase our commitment to our customer’s operational success:

• 95% CSAT Score*: The Flashpoint CS team delivered consistent high-satisfaction across every customer interaction.
• 2.5 Hours Time to Solve*: Our industry experts swiftly resolve myriad support inquiries and operational blockers.

*CSAT and Time to Solve figures are based on real customer inputs from January 1, 2026 to September 2026.

I work with 16 vendors and Flashpoint support is the best by far.

VP of Threat Intelligence Data & EngineeringMajor Financial Services Client

This commitment to responsiveness is why we were honored to recently be named a Customer Favorite in The Forrester Wave: External Threat Intelligence Service Providers, Q3 2026 report, where Forrester specifically noted that “customers laud Flashpoint’s white-glove approach to addressing diverse customer needs.” 

But what does top-level service look like behind the scenes? 

Here is a look at how Flashpoint CS operates as an extension of our customers’ security operations.

Flashpoint Industry Leaders, An Extension of Your Team

Unlike traditional CS models that limit you to a single point of contact, customers are supported by Flashpoint’s entire team of Customer Success Managers (CSM) experts. Our team is comprised of former intelligence operators and seasoned practitioners whose collective experience spans decades across critical industries and sectors, including:

• Healthcare
• Financial Services & Banking
• Vulnerability Management
• Public Sector
• Defense Sector
• Retail & Enterprise Security

Flashpoint customers are paired with a dedicated CSM who can seamlessly draw on our broader team of industry specialists. Flashpoint customers gain speedy, highly knowledgeable insights without bottlenecks. This model provides organizations with timely responses for any urgent specific sector threats, with our CS teams bringing in practitioners who have direct, real-world experience in that field.

“Flashpoint has been instrumental in supporting Threat Intelligence engagements.

We’ve seen a significant increase in ransomware-related data exposure cases, and Flashpoint’s responsiveness and quick turnaround times have been invaluable in helping us address these matters. We appreciate the partnership and support the CS team has provided.”

Major Finance and Risk Firm

More Than Just Support

In addition to traditional support, Flashpoint’s CS team also support clients with:

1. Tailored Onboarding & Workflows: CS works closely with new teams to configure platform workflows, set up alert parameters, and ensure rapid time-to-value from day one.
2. Interactive Training Modules & Flash Talks: Customers gain access to regular, practitioner-led sessions and training modules designed to help analysts level up on advanced platform features and emergent threat trends.
3. Proactive Enablement: Beyond issue resolution, CS provides complimentary training modules, success briefings, routinely-scheduled Flash Talks, and self-service support portal resources to keep security operators informed of evolving threat trends.
4. Community-Driven Events & FUSE: CS bridges the gap between intelligence and execution by connecting customers at our annual FUSE conference, where hundreds of security leaders collaborate on real-world workflows, cross-functional defenses, and advanced platform execution.

“Thanks to the team for all of the support throughout the evaluation and onboarding process. Everyone was responsive, engaged, and worked closely with us to ensure we had the information and guidance needed to make informed decisions and get the platform operational quickly.”

Major Financial Services Client

Proven Track Record: Voice of the Customer

Flashpoint is a customer-first intelligence provider; we turn customer feedback into action. Our CS teams serve as the direct voice of the customer, taking feature requests and quality-of-life updates to Flashpoint Ignite product managers and engineers to help shape product roadmaps.

Real-world examples of how customer feedback directly drives platform enhancements include:

• Expanding Card BIN Support for Financial Fraud Teams: When a top-10 U.S. bank raised concerns about card data visualization, CS brought the Fraud Product Manager directly into the conversation. This led to dashboard and API fixes alongside brand-new features delivered within a  month.
• Increasing Export Limits for High-Volume Investigations: Facing a critical project deadline, a risk-intelligence consultancy hit the export limit during a large-scale social media search. CS escalated the issue to product engineering, resulting in a permanent increase to the results per export for all Flashpoint customers.
• Resolving Integration Blockers for Global Insurers: When critical vulnerability and intelligence alerts weren’t reaching a global insurer’s SOC tools, CS collaborated directly with Flashpoint’s integrations engineering team to update, release, and verify the integration end-to-end.
• Unlocking Capacity for Enterprise Scaling: When a major Canadian bank approached their contractual API usage limit, their CSM partnered with Flashpoint leadership to secure expanded capacity, ensuring uninterrupted threat monitoring.

Remove Blockers Using Flashpoint

Powerful intelligence technology is only half the equation—unmatched operational support is what drives long-term success. Customer feedback reinforces our belief that Flashpoint’s recognition as a Forrester “Customer Favorite” mirrors our commitment to pairing world-class threat data with exceptional service. Request a demo and see how the combination of best-in-class data and unparalleled customer service strengthens your security operations to maximize your threat intelligence investment.

About Forrester

Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Forrester resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance. For more information, read about Forrester’s objectivity here.

The post Beyond Support: How Flashpoint Redefines the Customer Success Experience appeared first on Flashpoint.

The people and institutions closest to a community understand their needs best. Libraries, small businesses, nonprofits, and schools see firsthand where AI can create opportunity and where people need support to navigate change. At Microsoft, our role is to help these trusted institutions lead by providing practical resources, training, and clear safeguards that strengthen local capacity and put communities at the center of AI literacy and adoption. 

Public libraries have served as trusted centers of community learning across the United States for generations. Today, we are announcing a new initiative with the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, to expand resources and no-cost AI literacy and skills training for public library workers and their patrons.  

This work delivers on the commitment we made earlier this year through our Community-First AI Infrastructure initiative: to expand access to AI learning and opportunity by investing directly in local training. We’re committed to neighborhood learning through libraries, free literacy training, and certification opportunities, age-appropriate learning in schools and colleges, and support for nonprofit and small-business workforces. This new library initiative is the latest example of our broader work to help trusted local institutions serve as entry points for AI learning, skills development, and opportunity. This program comes alongside small business accelerator programs in TechSpark, our new Elevate for Changemakers platform connecting nonprofits to resources, and our ongoing national and statewide work to bring safe and responsible AI to education. 

Local libraries lead AI learning in their communities 

The Public Library Association AI literacy initiative we are announcing today, Building AI Skills and Agency Through Libraries, is designed to build practical skills, critical awareness, and the judgment to use AI safely and appropriately. It will pair Microsoft’s AI skilling resources with PLA’s national network of expert practitioners to support library workers and community patrons as they navigate this rapidly evolving technology.  

The initiative will expand practical resources and training for library workers, create opportunities to learn from one another through a Community of Practice, and offer free webinars and guidance to support their work with patrons.  

Library workers help people navigate information, find learning resources, and make informed decisions for themselves and their families. Supporting those workers is a practical way to bring AI learning closer to people, while respecting the independence of the institutions they trust. 

The approach reflects a broader view of AI literacy: people need more than instructions for using AI tools; they also need the knowledge and judgment to decide whether, when and how those tools should be used. The training will help library workers and patrons understand how AI works and expand their skills, while also evaluating potential risks, protecting personal and confidential information, critically evaluating AI-generated claims and sources, and better understanding considerations related to safety and bias.   

Equipping trusted local institutions to lead responsible AI adoption 

Last July, we launched Microsoft Elevate, a company-wide initiative that brings together our work to help people and institutions build the skills and capacity to navigate AI responsibly. Under the Elevate charter, each year, Microsoft supports nearly one million nonprofit organizations and education systems worldwide with technology, training, grants and discounts. Microsoft Elevate for Educators, our global community of over 100,000 teachers and school leaders, recently recognized our inaugural group of 20 Beacon Schools and School Systems that are leading examples of AI transformation in education, bringing together effective AI practices while keeping educators and students first. They are powerful examples of what happens when you combine committed educators, AI-powered technology, and intentional, no-cost staff training.

In Washington, our Elevate commitment has included a $3 million, two-year investment supporting 10 school districts and 10 community and technical colleges with grants, coaching, and communities of practice. To date, the initiative has reached 29,375 educators, with early pilots in Kennewick and Everett helping teachers explore practical uses of AI while keeping professional judgment at the center. 

Skills and access must be matched by strong safeguards. In September, Microsoft joined the American Federation of Teachers to establish a national AI Safety & Privacy Standard for Schools, with enforceable protections for student and educator data, human oversight, and transparency for families. Beginning November 1, every US school district can request Microsoft to add these protections to a new or existing agreement, without waiting for renewal or renegotiation. 

That same commitment extends to nonprofit staff and leaders. The Elevate for Changemakers program has already supported over 18,000 learners, helping them build practical AI skills, connect with peers, and earn recognition for turning learning into tangible outcomes for their organizations. And today we are expanding the program and introducing a new, connected experience that brings training, resources, and community together.  

Together, these efforts reflect a simple principle: responsible adoption requires more than technology. Educators, nonprofit changemakers, and community leaders need time, training, trusted connections, practical support, and clear guardrails so they can decide when AI strengthens learning and, equally important, when it does not. 

Investing in locally led economic opportunity across all 50 states

For nearly a decade, Microsoft has partnered with local nonprofits and small businesses across the U.S. through our TechSpark program. 

Through Fellows grants, TechSpark pairs local expertise with Microsoft coaching and a national peer network to help nonprofits expand their impact in their local community and drive accelerated innovation for local small businesses. Today, Microsoft is announcing the new 2027 TechSpark Fellows across all 50 states and releasing the 2026 Fellows Impact Report showing what a locally led model can make possible.  

Over the last three years, the Fellows cumulatively report access to more than $298 million in community funding, 59,600 people trained and upskilled in AI literacy, and more than 1,500 nonprofit partners mobilized to advance their missions within their communities. These numbers tell an important story: no single organization can create lasting opportunity on its own, and local context matters.  

In Virginia, Rosie Riveters Executive Director Brittany Greer is showing what it looks like to build the human capabilities that innovation requires. Through hands-on STEM experiences, students build, test, and troubleshoot to develop the critical thinking, persistence, and independent judgment they will need to use AI thoughtfully. Her work is the kind of learning these partnerships are designed to strengthen.  

Community institutions know their neighbors, understand the barriers they face, and are best positioned to decide how new resources can serve them. 

An ongoing journey

The thread connecting a library worker, a job seeker, a TechSpark Fellow, and a teacher is not a particular product. It is the ability to make informed decisions with support from people and institutions they trust. Our responsibility is to make that support more useful, accessible, and human-centered, while being candid about what we have yet to learn. 

As we navigate the rapid pace of innovation in this AI era, our aim is not simply to bring AI into more places. It is to help people retain a stronger voice in what happens next, in their workplaces, their classrooms, and their communities. 

The post Expanding AI literacy with the Public Library Association and community-based programs appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

Most people have opened their messages to find a suspicious alert urgently telling them that a package cannot be delivered, a toll remains unpaid, a bank account needs attention, or a tax bill is overdue. The details may change, but the goal is the same: to get someone to click, share personal information, or pay. 

These messages are relentless. Delete and block one, and another takes its place. Ignore them, and more will follow. Fall for one, and the floodgates open. What appears to be a simple scam message is often the visible end of a much larger transnational cybercriminal operation. 

When Microsoft and Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) followed a wave of fraud and scam activity targeting people and businesses in Japan, they expected to find individual campaigns. Instead, they found themselves inside a sprawling Chinese-language cybercrime marketplace where criminals could buy accounts, hosting services and tools used to create fake websites and online identities. The investigation expanded globally, involving the Japan Cybercrime Control Center (JC3), Resecurity, Cloudflare, Oracle, Proofpoint and TRM Labs to uncover the businesses sustaining this criminal ecosystem. 

Today, Microsoft and Health-ISAC, a global non-profit that helps health sector organizations share cyber threat information and collaborate to improve operational resilience, are moving to dismantle three components of this criminal marketplace: YAM Store, CoGUI and Iron Man.  

Since January 2026, YAM Store, CoGUI and Iron Man have collectively enabled more than one billion malicious messages targeting over 75,000 organizations worldwide, including more than 750 million messages geared toward Microsoft customers alone. These messages have been used to target consumers, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, and other businesses in more than 150 countries, generating tens of millions of dollars for their operators.   

Tracing the businesses behind the scams

The investigation began in late 2025 after Japan’s NPA alerted Microsoft to malicious messaging campaigns targeting people in Japan. NPA continued providing intelligence and investigative support as the partners traced those campaigns back to the businesses supplying criminals around the world. 

The trail led investigators deep into a Chinese-language cybercrime ecosystem that was difficult for non-native-speaking investigators to penetrate. There, they gained access to CoGUI, which supplied criminals with ready-made websites and messages impersonating companies, financial institutions, government agencies, and other trusted organizations. Instead of creating fraudulent websites themselves, criminals could quickly deploy pages designed to steal passwords, payment information, and other personal data.  

As Microsoft’s investigation expanded, intelligence from JC3 helped confirm the scale of the activity affecting Japanese organizations and their customers. Drawing on information collected across its network of more than 130 member organizations, JC3 connected what appeared to be separate incidents to a broader pattern of scams targeting Japanese companies and financial institutions, including efforts to defraud consumers and to steal credentials and other sensitive information.  

One name that kept appearing throughout the investigation was YAM Store. YAM Store operated much like an online shop. Customers could browse products, compare prices and purchase fraudulent Microsoft and Google accounts and other ready-made tools used to carry out scams, including credential theft. Controlled purchases conducted by Microsoft helped confirm how it worked. 

In some cases, operators acquired internet domains that legitimate organizations had allowed to expire, often targeting certain sectors, such as non-profits and education, with specialized product offerings. They then rebuilt the websites to make those organizations appear active, allowing them to fraudulently obtain Microsoft 365 accounts that could later be sold through YAM Store.  

Ready-made tools

YAM Store provided criminal infrastructure that was frequently paired with tools and services such as CoGUI. As investigators dug deeper, they found that the marketplace was already evolving. CoGUI had become one of the most widely used offerings in the ecosystem, particularly targeting victims in Japan and the United States but by mid-2026 it was increasingly being replaced by a newer offering known as Iron Man. 

Iron Man expanded the model by giving criminals access to thousands of ready-made templates designed to impersonate trusted organizations. Criminals could then quickly deploy email, text and web content tailored to specific brands, industries and countries.  

Through test purchases and work with Resecurity, investigators gained access to Iron Man and identified more than 2,300 templates impersonating banks, retailers, healthcare providers, transportation authorities, police departments, government agencies, and other organizations across more than 150 countries worldwide. Some were designed for government impersonation scams, using the appearance of official authority to pressure victims into making payments or disclosing sensitive personal information. Others impersonated organizations across industries, countries, and languages, from banks and airlines to telecommunications companies, retailers, and parcel delivery services.  

Examples of these impersonation templates are below. Importantly, the presence of an organization or government entity in these templates does not indicate that its systems were compromised. 

A blog from Microsoft Threat Intelligence shares more details on the network, as well as steps customers can take to protect themselves.  

Putting the pieces together

No single organization saw the full picture. Japan’s NPA played a critical role throughout the investigation, providing intelligence, investigative support and collaboration that helped uncover how the operation worked. JC3 helped establish the scale of the activity affecting Japanese organizations and consumers. Health-ISAC provided insight into impacts affecting healthcare organizations, while Resecurity, Cloudflare, Oracle, Proofpoint and TRM Labs contributed intelligence and investigative support.  

Working together, and with the assistance of AI tools, we connected accounts, websites, and infrastructure that initially appeared unrelated, helping expose the broader criminal marketplace behind them. Microsoft also worked closely and shared intelligence with U.S. Secret Service and international law enforcement partners.

This investigation also reflects a broader trend highlighted in this year’s Microsoft Digital Defense Report: modern fraud increasingly relies on businesses and services that make it easier for criminals to reach more victims. It took two-way information sharing across industries and international borders to uncover how these deeply interconnected services worked together. 

Going after the suppliers

With an order from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Microsoft and Health-ISAC seized and redirected domains that were part of the underlying infrastructure powering YAM Store, CoGUI and Iron Man. Microsoft has already disabled more than 20,000 accounts connected to YAM Store and continues to dismantle the operation by removing infrastructure hosted on its services and blocking more than 100,000 domains used for impersonation and fraud.   

What began with scam activity targeting people and organizations in Japan led investigators to an underground service economy supplying criminals around the world. YAM Store, CoGUI and Iron Man are only part of that larger criminal network, but disrupting them makes it harder for criminals to obtain the accounts, tools and infrastructure they rely on. 

The scam message is often the only part victims see. The businesses behind it are what make it possible. 

The post Disrupting the service economy behind transnational cybercrime operations appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce. That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans.

We look forward to providing the Administration with additional information. For example, of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not to hire new people. The remaining filings for new employees were for individuals already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us, and they equal only 1% of our U.S. workforce. They are not new arrivals to our country.

Microsoft only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category. We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work.

Microsoft succeeds as a global technology leader by developing the world’s best technology workforce. We do this by strengthening this country’s talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world.

The post Microsoft Comment on Recent Immigration Questions appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Under the Hood: How Flashpoint’s Patented Ransomware Vulnerability Model Works

Comprehensive Vulnerability Intelligence Integration

Protect Against Vulnerability and Ransomware Risk Using Flashpoint

Ransomware Risk FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

More

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Vulnerability and exposure management (VM) teams need critical metadata and context that clearly show which issues pose an immediate risk to their organization. While traditional VM frameworks tell defenders how severe a vulnerability may be, they do not provide visibility into how likely threat actors are to exploit it. This leaves security teams overwhelmed in patch backlogs without a clear strategy for prioritization.

Nowhere is this prioritization gap more dangerous than with ransomware. Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) groups no longer choose targets at random. They look for specific technical conditions that make vulnerability exploitation easy, fast, and repeatable. With RaaS attacks rising by 45% period-over-period in H1 2026, organizations need a way to identify the specific traits that make a vulnerability attractive to ransomware operators before an attack occurs.

Flashpoint built the Ransomware Risk score into Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence to solve exactly this problem. Since 2022, it has rated newly discovered vulnerabilities based on how closely they resemble those known to be used in ransomware attacks. With the grant of the U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360 on August 11, 2026, the methodology behind the score is now formally patented. This milestone formalizes Flashpoint’s ability to cut through the noise with a proven, threat-informed signal that gives defenders the clarity they need to act on Day Zero.

“As vulnerability disclosures surge, prioritization is more important than ever for security teams. A severity score alone can’t tell you which vulnerabilities pose the greatest real-world risk of exploitation by ransomware actors.

Our patented Ransomware Risk model applies years of threat intelligence to that problem, giving customers an earlier signal and helping them prioritize based on how attackers actually operate.”

josh lefkowitz, co-founder and ceo at flashpoint

Under the Hood: How Flashpoint’s Patented Ransomware Vulnerability Model Works

The patented system evaluates newly disclosed vulnerabilities against the patterns shared by vulnerabilities ransomware groups have exploited. Rather than trying to predict what threat actors will do next, the model learns what past ransomware-exploited vulnerabilities have in common and compares each new flaw against those patterns.

The Four Step Process

Multi-Factor Fingerprinting

Every vulnerability ingested into Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence is profiled against more than 60 distinct technical factors. This “fingerprinting” links the vulnerability to key inputs including whether the flaw is remotely exploitable without authentication, whether it affects SCADA or Operational Technology (OT) systems, and its potential impact on data availability, which is central to extortion schemes.

Coordinate Mapping

The model turns each multi-factor fingerprint into a set of values that place it as a single point on a map, so vulnerabilities with similar profiles land close together.

Identifying the Ransomware Neighborhood (Cluster Check)

Flashpoint overlays historical threat data onto the map to establish neighborhoods where vulnerabilities previously exploited in real-world ransomware attacks aggregate.

Similarity and Likelihood Rating

When a new vulnerability is ingested, its coordinates are checked against these neighborhoods. The scoring system calculates its spatial proximity to known ransomware vectors and assigns a clear rating: Low, Medium, High, or Critical.

This four-step method, developed by Flashpoint’s Ben Haynes and Jacob Kouns, is the basis of U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360.

What It Means for Vulnerability Management Teams

By translating complex structural attributes into a single risk score, the patented model delivers four key operational advantages:

1. Prioritize Beyond CVSS: Leveraging the Ransomware Risk model, security teams can confidently prioritize 1.0 to 6.9 CVSS issues if its structural profile lands it in a “High” or “Critical” ransomware cluster.
2. Act on Day Zero: Because the Flashpoint model rates all vulnerabilities on disclosure, security teams gain actionable guidance immediately, eliminating the need to wait weeks for external exploitation reports.
3. Effectively Communicate Risk: CISOs can present clear, business-centric risk statements rather than abstract numerical scores.
4. Adaptive Ratings: Scores update in near real time as vulnerability details change, and the model keeps adjusting as new vulnerabilities join the set it compares against.

Comprehensive Vulnerability Intelligence Integration

Flashpoint’s Ransomware Risk model is built to enhance, not replace the vulnerability management frameworks organizations already rely on. In fact, it provides even greater value for security teams as our Ransomware Risk model provides clarity for every vulnerability detailed by Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence, including over 105,000 issues missed by CVE and NVD.

Within Flashpoint Ignite, security teams have a complete view of vulnerability risk, seeing the score alongside CVSS (v3 and v4), EPSS, Social Risk, and exploit maturity.

Protect Against Vulnerability and Ransomware Risk Using Flashpoint

Vulnerability management requires more than cataloging. It demands threat-informed prioritization that aligns security operations with real-world business risk. Flashpoint’s patented Ransomware Risk model eliminates guesswork by surfacing the flaws that match the profile of known ransomware targets, allowing security teams to patch what matters most, first. 

By combining proprietary knowledge of vulnerability architecture and ransomware attacks, Flashpoint bridges the gap between theoretical and active exposure. Request a demo today to see how our Ransomware Risk model provides the definitive signal needed to stay ahead of extortion groups.

Ransomware Risk FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is the Ransomware Risk score? 

The Ransomware Risk score is a rating in Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence that shows how closely a vulnerability resembles those known to be used in ransomware attacks. Each vulnerability is rated Low, Medium, High, or Critical, so security teams can see which ones to patch first to reduce their ransomware exposure.

How is Ransomware Risk different from CVSS and EPSS?

CVSS measures how severe a vulnerability could be, and EPSS estimates how likely it is to be exploited in general. Ransomware Risk adds a ransomware-specific signal that works alongside both, showing how closely a vulnerability matches those ransomware groups have used. In Flashpoint Ignite, all three scores appear together.

What does Flashpoint’s ransomware patent cover?

U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360, granted August 11, 2026, covers Flashpoint’s method for rating how likely a vulnerability is to be used in a ransomware event. Each vulnerability is profiled on more than 60 factors, compared with vulnerabilities used in past ransomware attacks, and rated by similarity. The patent formalizes the model behind the Ransomware Risk score, live since 2022.

How often are Ransomware Risk scores updated?

Ransomware Risk scores update in near real time, so new vulnerabilities are rated as soon as they’re disclosed. The model also keeps adjusting as new vulnerabilities join the body it compares against, so ratings reflect the ransomware landscape as it stands today.

The post Ransomware Risk Model: Flashpoint’s Patented Scoring Method to Inform Vulnerability Prioritization appeared first on Flashpoint.

Blogs

Blog

Process Parameter Poisoning: Inside a Novel EDR Evasion Technique

In this post, Flashpoint analysts examine Process Parameter Poisoning—a novel EDR evasion technique we validated in Rust—and detail how abusing undocumented process parameters allows attackers to inject code and bypass standard security products.

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Flashpoint Intel Team

September 22, 2026

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

What is Process Parameter Poisoning?

How Does Process Parameter Poisoning Work?

Validating Process Parameter Poisoning in Rust

Associated MITRE ATT&CK

Stay Ahead of Process Parameter Poisoning Using Flashpoint

More

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Modern Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platforms have made traditional malware injection techniques significantly harder to execute. In most cases, if a threat actor attempts to write malicious code into a process, an alert will fire. However, that sense of security is being actively challenged as cybercriminals and red teams find new ways to blend malicious payloads into standard operating system routines.

Flashpoint’s Intelligence team built and tested a proof-of-concept for a newly disclosed technique known as Process Parameter Poisoning. By compiling a custom payload and layering evasion mechanics, our analysts demonstrated how easily traditional API hooks can be rendered blind in a laboratory environment—achieving zero alerts across tested EDR/XDR controls.

What is Process Parameter Poisoning?

Process Parameter Poisoning is a novel endpoint detection and response (EDR) evasion technique that combines process parameter spoofing and thread execution hijacking to inject code into foreign processes without triggering standard security detection mechanisms.

Discovered by researchers Max Hirschberger and Ogulcan Ugur, Process Parameter Poisoning is designed to inject code in foreign processes without relying on the conventional memory-manipulation workflows that modern security tooling monitors.

To execute process injection, historically security tools and threat actors alike have focused on a small set of well-known Windows application programming interfaces (APIs). Process Parameter Poisoning shifts away from these heavily watched routines entirely. Instead of calling memory-accessing APIs to allocate and write into a target process, the technique hides the malicious payload directly inside standard process initialization structures during the initial creation of a process. The result is a fundamental shift in defense evasion that effectively blinds traditional, API-hooking EDR agents during the initial stages of code execution.

How Does Process Parameter Poisoning Work?

Process Parameter Poisoning allows attackers to bypass suspicious memory-accessing Windows APIs, such as VirtualAllocEx(), WriteProcessMemory(), and MapViewOfFile2(). Security products heavily monitor these specific APIs due to their high rate of abuse in traditional process injection techniques. However, by avoiding these calls, an attacker effectively bypasses the initial primary triggers used by endpoint agents to flag malicious cross-process memory activity.

When using the Windows application programming interface (API), CreateProcessA/W(), the developer can specify parameters such as the command-line to be executed by the new process, environment variables for the new process, current working directory for the process, window title if it is a console application, create a hidden window, create the process in a suspended state, etc. Many of these parameters are passed into CreateProcessA/W() via the STARTUPINFOA/W structure.

Some entries are undocumented and labeled “reserved” by Microsoft. The discovering researchers found that data stored in STARTUPINFO->lpReserved ends up in the Process Environment Block once the new process is initialized in an entry called “ShellInfo.” Below is an example of placing data into the STARTUPINFOW->lpReserved entry in a test application and the data stored in ShellInfo while debugging the newly created process.

†

Validating Process Parameter Poisoning in Rust

Flashpoint analysts created a proof-of-concept (POC) in Rust to test this technique based on the POC C++ source code provided by the researchers:

1. First the necessary data structures are initialized and the shellcode is passed into the STARTUPINFO->lpReserved field.
2. The target process is created with the infected STARTUPINFO and then a short wait to let the program initialize.
3. NtQueryInformationProcess() is used to acquire PROCESS_BASIC_INFORMATION about the newly created process.
4. The PROCESS_BASIC_INFORMATION structure has an entry called PebBaseAddress that provides the location of the process’s Process Environment Block.
5. NtReadVirtualMemory() is used to read the memory address provided by PebBaseAddress to get the PEB for that process.
6. The PEB has an entry called ProcessParameters that holds the structure RTL_USER_PROCESS_PARAMETERS and is where the ShellInfo entry mentioned earlier is stored.
7. NtReadVirtualMemory() needs to be used again to read the RTL_USER_PROCESS_PARAMETERS structure and get the address of the ShellInfo.Buffer entry.

Flashpoint confirmed that after changing the memory to have executable permissions, the threat actors can perform thread hijacking by using GetThreadContext() to acquire information about the current running thread, change the instruction pointer to point to the ShellInfo.Buffer address, and then SetThreadContext() to apply the changes and execute the shellcode.

Flashpoint analysts further confirm that this technique also works with the WindowTitle entry, CommandLine entry using the same series of steps.

The technique also works with the Environment entry but requires additional steps. Environment blocks require a variable name and the variable data separated by an “=.” Environment blocks can contain multiple variable entries in which each entry is ended with a null terminator. Two null terminators are necessary to denote the end of the environment block. This means the payload needs to be embedded in a longer string with a “{NAME} = {VALUE}” format.

Flashpoint analysts note that four null terminators were appended to the shellcode bytes to denote the end of an environment block in Unicode. The resulting payload buffer is then passed into the lpEnvironment variable of CreateProcessW() along with the CREATE_UNICODE_ENVIRONMENT creation flag.

The rest of the process remains the same as reading the PEB and RTL_USER_PROCESS_PARAMETERS structure. The Environment entry is read, but at the offset of the embedded shellcode within the poisoned environment block string. Because four bytes were added to the beginning of the shellcode to make the Unicode environment block, execution needs to begin after four bytes from the beginning of the buffer to begin executing at the shellcode.

Flashpoint notes that the shellcode requires no NULL bytes, and, if using the PAGE_EXECUTE_READ flag, it cannot overwrite itself. This means automated shellcode generators such as MSFVenom might not work either because they contain NULL bytes or use encoders that perform memory writes during execution. Flashpoint analysts wrote custom shellcode to further test this technique. The shellcode downloads and executes an additional payload. The combination of this technique, custom shellcode, and the use of Rust as the programming language proved successful in minimizing initial static detections by security software.

Flashpoint tested this technique with a commonly-used open source EDR platform. The EDR platform itself failed to produce any alerts from executing the malicious binary. However, the XDR component blocked on the initial creation of a new process and COM interactions by the second stage payload.

Flashpoint analysts then combined this technique with the DLL unhooking technique and applied the non-Microsoft block DLL policy during the creation of the sacrificial process. Analysts observed no blocks from the XDR during execution and observed no alerts on the platform.

Associated MITRE ATT&CK

Tactic	Technique ID	Technique Name
Stealth	T1055	Process Injection
Stealth	T1055.003	Process Injection: Thread Execution Hijacking
Stealth	T1564.010	Hide Artifacts: Process Argument Spoofing

Security teams can leverage several detection strategies to identify Process Parameter Poisoning, though each approach carries distinct limitations:

• Analyzing Parameter Entropy and Argument Spoofing (MITRE ATT&CK T1564.010): Security tools can inspect initialization strings within process structures for unusually high entropy, which often indicates the presence of obfuscated or raw binary shellcode embedded within parameters.
• Monitoring Thread Execution Hijacking (MITRE ATT&CK T1055.003): Analysts can monitor for thread context manipulation; however, because Process Parameter Poisoning does not invoke explicit thread suspension or resumption APIs, specific detection rules that depend on those parameters will fail to trigger.
• Detecting Code Execution in Abnormal Memory Locations (MITRE ATT&CK T1055): Detections can flag execution attempts taking place outside the standard executable section, particularly when code executes directly within Process Environment Block (PEB) parameter buffers.
• Auditing Memory Permission Modifications: Tracking instances where memory region permissions are altered to executable states can reveal payload staging. However, enterprise security controls often tune down or avoid these specific alerts due to high volumes of false positives in normal software operations.

Stay Ahead of Process Parameter Poisoning Using Flashpoint

Process Parameter Poisoning demonstrates another advancement in stealthy process injection and the constantly evolving research into evading security products. By using the previously unknown purpose of the lpReserved field within the STARTUPINFOW structure to house shellcode, this technique bypasses standard security product triggers associated with common memory-allocation APIs. While this proof-of-concept was proven successful in lab testing, the technique has multiple opportunities for detection and will most likely require a combination of additional evasion techniques to achieve a higher success rate.

As threat actors continue to refine technique-stacking and exploit overlooked Windows internals, relying on traditional API hooks is no longer enough to protect your enterprise. Staying ahead of modern evasion mechanics requires proactive intelligence and deep visibility into emerging adversary TTPs.

Request a demo today to see how best-in-class threat intelligence can help security teams detect, prepare for, and neutralize advanced defense evasion techniques before they impact your network.

The post Process Parameter Poisoning: Inside a Novel EDR Evasion Technique appeared first on Flashpoint.

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Cybercrime at Machine Speed: Key Takeaways from Flashpoint’s 2026 Midyear Threat Intelligence Briefing

Threat actors are no longer just using automation to execute tasks, they are leveraging prepackaged, safeguard-free AI, weaponizing stolen session data, and directly targeting defenders’ security stacks.

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Flashpoint

September 1, 2026

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

The Death of Signal: Threat Actors are Shifting to “Private AI”

Weaponizing the Defender’s Own Tooling

The Structural Failure of CVE/NVD and the Importance of KEV

Ransomware Evolution: From Encryption to Cloud Extortion

Protect Your Organization Using Flashpoint

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In our latest webinar, Flashpoint Vice President of Intelligence, Ian Gray, briefed security leaders on the evolving threat environment, providing critical insights from the Flashpoint Global Threat Intelligence Report (GTIR): 2026 Midyear Edition.

The threat landscape has developed at a striking pace with Flashpoint tracking over 22 million illicit AI discussions, 7.4 million compromised hosts yielding 1.7 billion stolen credentials, and over 21,600 disclosed vulnerabilities in just six months. Beyond these staggering numbers, the on-demand session detailed something even more alarming: a fundamental shift in adversary operational tradecraft.

Here are the five critical shifts every cyber threat intelligence (CTI), Vulnerability Management, and SOC team needs to know.

The Death of Signal: Threat Actors are Shifting to “Private AI”

The public discussion surrounding criminal artificial intelligence (AI) has reached a critical inflection point. Early in the AI boom, Flashpoint observed threat actors collaboratively experiment across underground forums, jailbreaking commercial frontier models or advertising surface-level tools like WormGPT and DarkGPT.

Today, adversaries are shifting from public forums to running fine-tuned, open-source models locally on private servers, which greatly hampers traditional signature-based detection. Flashpoint analysts are now seeing attackers generate unique, highly tailored malware variants, flawless phishing lures, and custom exploit scripts at extremely low costs—completely offline and shielded from public monitoring.

“A few months ago, a lot of this was collaborative… public outsourcing. Now what we’re seeing is scarier: pre-packaged cybercrime models run locally on private infrastructure. Malicious code, exploit scripts, and targeted phishing are all being generated inside closed environments.”

Ian Gray, VP of Intelligence, Flashpoint

Weaponizing the Defender’s Own Tooling

Another eye-opening tactical insight shared during the session was how threat actors are repurposing defender infrastructure for automated initial access and extortion. In the webinar, we pointed to recent campaigns where adversaries specifically targeted misconfigurations and zero-day vulnerabilities inside open-source vulnerability scanners, secrets-detection tools, Kubernetes clusters, and Infrastructure-as-Code(IaC) environments.

What this means for defenders is that the attack surface is no longer bounded by traditional enterprise network boundaries: it extends directly into CI/CD pipelines, security orchestration tooling, and third-party SaaS integrations. Security teams are finding themselves in a race against attackers who use automated scanning scripts to weaponize vulnerabilities in the security tools themselves.

The Global Infostealer Threat and Identity-First Attacks

Flashpoint tracked 7.4 million hosts compromised by infostealers in H1 2026—a 27% increase period-over-period—harvesting 1.7 billion credentials and identity information.

While the top infostealer strains remain familiar, law enforcement operations have created vacuums that competitors rapidly fill.

Threat actors are leveraging drive-by downloads, watering holes, and pirated software packages to plant stealers. Once a machine is compromised, the logs capture corporate SSO credentials, active browser cookies, VPN keys, and SaaS session tokens. This enables adversaries to simply log in without having to leverage complex technical exploits.

The Structural Failure of CVE/NVD and the Importance of KEV

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) and National Vulnerability Database (NVD) have failed to keep pace with the velocity of AI-assisted vulnerability discovery. As such, vulnerability management teams are facing significant operational delays.

Metric	Flashpoint GTIR Midyear H1 2026 Data	Operational Impact
Total Disclosures	21,667	Remediation volume exceeds defender bandwidth.
Exploit Availability	19% (4,015 CVEs)	Functional code is ready before patches are deployed.
Public Catalog Lag	Growing Backlog (NVD/KEV)	Delay in official scoring leaves teams blind to active risk.

Therefore, waiting for NVD enrichment before prioritizing a patch is a dangerous strategy. To compensate, security teams require Vulnerability Intelligence (VI) that provides primary-source confirmation of weaponization, exploit availability, and actionable mitigation guidance long before public databases update.

Ransomware Evolution: From Encryption to Cloud Extortion

Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) activity surged by 45% period-over-period, reaching 6,256 verified victim postings on data leak sites. However, total on-chain payout revenue dropped by 8% to $820 million, with victim pay-rates hitting a record low of 28%.

Faced with declining payouts and resilient enterprise backups, extortion syndicates are adapting. Rather than relying exclusively on technical file-encrypting malware, groups are executing pure data extortion campaigns—frequently targeting cloud platforms or extracting data through third-party vendor access.

Protect Your Organization Using Flashpoint

Defending against machine-speed attacks requires moving beyond reactive, post-incident telemetry. Flashpoint arms security, CTI, and vulnerability management teams with the primary-source intelligence required to preempt adversary operations:

• Unrivaled Deep & Dark Web Visibility: Flashpoint’s Primary Source Collection actively monitors closed criminal communities, illicit Telegram channels, and private forums, giving you early warning when threat actors build custom AI toolkits or trade credentials targeting your organization.
• Comprehensive Vulnerability Intelligence (VI): Flashpoint tracks zero-days and vulnerability disclosures independently, delivering immediate exploit availability data and threat-informed prioritization so you patch what actually matters.
• Continuous Compromised Credential Monitoring: Instantly surface exposed enterprise credentials, active session tokens, and stealer logs tied to your domain or third-party supply chain before they lead to an account takeover (ATO).

Request a demo, or watch the full on-demand webinar to explore the data shaping today’s risk landscape.

The post Cybercrime at Machine Speed: Key Takeaways from Flashpoint’s 2026 Midyear Threat Intelligence Briefing appeared first on Flashpoint.

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The Evolution of Hacktivism in Hybrid Warfare: Modern Tactics and Real-World Impact

In this post we examine how modern hacktivism has evolved into a tool of global hybrid warfare, analyzing crowdsourced attack tactics, media-driven propaganda, and real-world impacts across Ukraine, the Middle East, European Union, and NATO nations.

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Flashpoint Intel Team

August 26, 2026

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

What is Hacktivism?

Modern Tactics: Gamifying Cyber Warfare

The Propaganda Engine: Media Amplification and Validation

Beyond Propaganda: Aligning Cyber Disruption with Military Objectives

The Far Reach of Modern Hacktivism

Defend Against the New Wave of Hacktivism Using Flashpoint

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Hacktivism used to be perceived as digital graffiti, with lone-wolf threat actors defacing government websites or temporarily crashing banking portals to make a political point. However, Flashpoint is tracking a fundamental shift in how these groups operate.

Modern hacktivism is evolving into a disciplined component of global hybrid warfare, capable of bridging digital disruptions with tangible real-world impact. Today, these operations blur the line between volunteer activism and coordinated state interest, leveraging crowdsourced infrastructure to disrupt critical utilities, manipulate media narratives, and target public infrastructure on a global scale. Unpacking these modern hacktivist collectives reveals what their tactics look like in practice and their far-reaching consequences across dozens of nations.

What is Hacktivism?

Hacktivism is the use of cyberattacks to promote or advance a particular political or social cause, leveraging a wide range of tactics such as website defacement, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and data breaches. Modern hacktivist collectives serve as the loud, high-visibility arm of cyber conflict—frequently aligning with state geopolitical interests, as seen most prominently in recent pro-Russian operations and Iranian-aligned cyber campaigns.

These pro-Russian hacktivist groups, such as NoName057 and Killnet, alongside pro-Iranian collectives and proxy ecosystems like Handala Hack, often react to the news cycle and target countries designated by state media or ideological narratives as enemies. As such, modern hacktivist campaigns are opportunistic and tied to global events—from the escalation in the Middle East following military operations like Operation Epic Fury, to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and new aid packages to Ukraine. These groups’ justification narratives typically mirror state messaging.

Modern Tactics: Gamifying Cyber Warfare

In tracking modern hacktivist groups, Flashpoint analysts identified a new method these groups are utilizing to convert ordinary devices into tools for hybrid warfare—the gamification of cyberattacks. Flashpoint has observed groups like NoName057 turning DDoS attacks into community-based “patriotic online games,” such as their “DDoSia Project,” with participants earning military-style ranks and cryptocurrency rewards for overloading the websites of government institutions, banks, and various infrastructure across various countries.

This model has enabled the scaling of operations by utilizing a large, low-skilled participant base rather than having to rely on sophisticated technical tradecraft. The model’s decentralized structure and ideological appeal continue to pose a significant challenge for international law enforcement.

The Propaganda Engine: Media Amplification and Validation

Beyond technical disruptions, publicity is the primary currency of modern hacktivism. Hacktivist groups demonstrate a consistent pattern of media-seeking behavior and self-promotion, likely intended to amplify their perceived impact and reinforce notoriety within the broader cyber threat landscape. Many of these groups repeatedly repost media coverage and news articles referencing themselves.

This serves as a curated self-promotion mechanism, allowing the group to selectively showcase external validation of its operations, including coverage from mainstream and security-focused outlets, to its followers. This behavior aligns with a broader trend observed with especially pro-Russian hacktivist collectives, in which media visibility is treated as a measure of operational success independent of verified technical impact. It also serves as a deliberate tactic for engagement and recruitment that reinforces “patriotic” branding and sustains participant morale and visibility.

Beyond Propaganda: Aligning Cyber Disruption with Military Objectives

In some cases, the digital targeting of hacktivist collectives is more aligned with kinetic objectives, rather than public perception or propaganda initiatives. This is especially true for Iranian-aligned hacktivists and proxy groups who are more deeply intertwined with military operations in the Middle East. These groups have expanded their operations from website disruptions into claims of large-scale data wipers, extortion, and cyberattacks targeting key infrastructure across the Gulf.

The Far Reach of Modern Hacktivism

Major geopolitical flashpoints in the Middle East have triggered waves of hacktivist activity that has spread across North America, with threat actors targeting supply chains, financial infrastructure, and operational technology and control systems.

Simultaneously, pro-Russian hacktivist groups, particularly NoName057, have been extremely prolific within the last year—carrying out two major illicit campaigns heavily targeting Ukraine, which then spilled over to more than 30 nations globally. The following breakdown contains statistics and targeting dynamics of pro-Russian hacktivist groups observed between July 2025 and 2026:

The Continuous Campaign Against Ukraine

Ukraine has been the primary target for pro-Russian hacktivist groups who seek to damage Ukrainian infrastructure and morale. Anti-Ukrainian content is constantly distributed through dedicated per-language channels, making it the most linguistically developed target spanning six languages. Involved channels each post near-identical translated content within minutes to hours of the Russian original, down to the same image file with identical SHA1 hashes, which suggests a sustained propaganda distribution operation.

This has resulted in alleged data breaches impacting Ukrainian General Staff, military enlistment offices, medical, and morgue databases to push a casualty-count narrative. It also has resulted in the defacement or disruption of websites of regional capitals and administrative centers, energy plants, water and power-adjacent infrastructure, and many more.

Spilling Over: Impact Across EU and NATO Allies

However, Ukraine is not the sole casualty of modern hacktivism. Recent pro-Russian hacktivist campaigns have spread to other EU nations and NATO members. Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain have been observed to be priority targets, with threat actors targeting public transportation, federal and security agencies, municipal government and utilities, financial markets, and other infrastructure. In some cases, hacktivist campaigns manifest in the real-world, with physical sticker drives on municipal streets, alongside doxxing operations releasing alleged personal data and automated scans hijacking exposed CCTV camera systems across Europe.

Defend Against the New Wave of Hacktivism Using Flashpoint

As hacktivist operations continue to blur the boundary between digital disruption and real-world interference, organizations can no longer view DDoS attacks or low-level intrusions as simple background noise. Protecting critical assets requires proactive visibility into threat actor networks, early detection of targeting narratives, and primary source threat intelligence.

Request a demo today to see how Flashpoint provides actionable intelligence to help security teams, government agencies, and infrastructure providers identify, monitor, and mitigate emerging hacktivist campaigns before they impact operations.

The post The Evolution of Hacktivism in Hybrid Warfare: Modern Tactics and Real-World Impact appeared first on Flashpoint.

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Insider Threat Report: Dark Web Recruitment & Access Trends

Flashpoint’s monthly analysis of insider threat recruitment, illicit access advertising, and threat actor activity targeting enterprise environments.

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Flashpoint Intel Team

October 15, 2026

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

The Insider Threat Landscape: September 2026

Where Insider Threats Activity is Concentrated

Protect Against Insider Threats Using Flashpoint

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

More

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Unknowingly, a member of key personnel is living two separate lives. On the clock, they are a highly-trusted systems administrator, but in their personal time, they moonlight on the deep and dark web, advertising their trust and access to the highest bidder. One day, they get a simple offer: $15,000 in the crypto of their choice to approve a single push notification at 2 AM. They accept. By morning, the attacker walks away  with active domain admin credentials without the need for malware or cracking firewalls.

This is just one example of how insider threats lead to modern enterprise breaches. As perimeter security, EDR coverage, and other security tools mature, threat actors continue to target the human element, seeking employees and contractors willing to provide access to corporate systems or facilitate fraudulent activity.

In a threat landscape where identity is becoming the primary attack surface, monitoring illicit marketplaces and recruitment efforts is critical. This new monthly report leverages Flashpoint’s Primary Source Collection (PSC) to analyze insider threat tactics, tracking active recruitment and advertising on dark web forums and encrypted networks.

The Insider Threat Landscape: September 2026

In September 2026, Flashpoint analysts identified a total of 9,787 insider-related posts across 1,216 channels and 1,778 authors. While the volume of observed activity decreased, threat actors continued to actively seek and advertise insider access, particularly within industries where legitimate employee privileges can be exploited to facilitate fraud. These communications included threat actors attempting to recruit insiders at target organizations, insiders advertising their services, and general discussions involving insider-related threat activity.

Of these communications, Flashpoint observed 857 unique posts between September 1 and September 30, 2026.

The majority of these posts appeared in mid-tier English-language Telegram channels, where threat actors sought or advertised insider access to organizations across several industries. Much of the observed activity focused on recruiting insiders to facilitate fraud operations.

Where Insider Threat Activity is Concentrated

Retail, telecommunications, and financial services remained prominent targets for insider threat activity in September 2026. However, a significant portion of the observed activity could not be attributed to a specific industry.

Flashpoint found that 45.7% of unique insider posts fell into the “Unknown” category, meaning analysts could not determine the targeted organization or industry. Among posts with an identifiable industry, retail accounted for the largest share, followed by telecommunications, financial services, and technology.

Together, these four industries accounted for 419 unique posts, or nearly 49% of all unique insider-related activity observed during the month.

The concentration of activity in retail, telecommunications, and financial services reflects continued threat actor interest in insiders who may be positioned to facilitate fraud, provide access to customer accounts, or exploit legitimate organizational privileges.

The following table shows a breakdown of unique insider posts by industry in September 2026:

Industry	Posts
Other	392
Retail	135
Telecom	116
Financial	85
Technology	83
Public Sector	41
Healthcare	3
Media	2
Total	857

Insider Threats: Recruiting vs. Advertising

Active insider threats generally involve two types of activity: an insider is recruited by a malicious outside party, or an insider advertises their access and services to interested threat actors. These arrangements can enable adversaries to exfiltrate sensitive data, install malware, compromise accounts, or carry out fraudulent activities such as SIM swaps.

In September 2026, Flashpoint analysts identified 15 notable insider recruitment and advertising posts across underground communities and chat forums. Of these, nine involved threat actors attempting to recruit insiders, while six involved actors advertising insider services.

Telecommunications accounted for the largest number of notable posts, with five instances of recruitment or advertising. Retail and technology followed with three each, while financial services and the public sector accounted for two each.

These examples illustrate how threat actors continue to seek access across industries, with particular interest in employees and contractors who can facilitate fraud or provide privileged access to organizational systems.

Flashpoint also observed numerous insider solicitations repeated across multiple discussion threads, often with limited details about the access or services being offered. Analysts could not independently verify the legitimacy of the recruitment and advertising claims.

Protect Against Insider Threats Using Flashpoint

Insider threats are inherently difficult to detect using internal security controls alone because the malicious activity relies on valid credentials and legitimate access privileges. Relying solely on internal logs means security teams often only detect an insider threat after data exfiltration or system sabotage has already occurred.

Flashpoint protects organizations against insider threats through our Primary Source Collection (PSC) and specialized intelligence platforms:

• External Threat Intelligence & Early Warning: Flashpoint monitors deep and dark web forums, invite-only threat communities, and encrypted chat platforms to identify employee solicitations, stolen corporate domain mentions, and active recruitment attempts before an intrusion develops.
• Identity Protection & Infostealer Tracking: By tracking illicit marketplaces and infostealer activity, Flashpoint identifies compromised corporate credentials and active session tokens, preventing threat actors from utilizing purchased access.
• User & Entity Behavior Context: Flashpoint’s intelligence equips SOC, Security Operations, and Risk Management teams with adversary TTPs, enabling security operations to look for anomalous data downloads, off-hours access, or unauthorized software installation.

To learn more about how Flashpoint can help protect your enterprise from insider risk and monitor illicit underground communities, Request a Demo Today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Flashpoint Insider Threat Report?

The Flashpoint Insider Threat Report is a monthly intelligence brief that analyzes trends, volume, targeted industries, and tactics surrounding insider threat recruitment and illicit access advertising on the deep web, dark web, and encrypted chat channels.

How does Flashpoint collect insider threat data?

Flashpoint collects data using its Primary Source Collection (PSC) engine, which actively monitors thousands of dark web forums, illicit marketplaces, and underground chat networks where threat actors and malicious insiders communicate.

What is the difference between insider recruitment and insider advertising?

Insider recruitment occurs when an external cybercriminal attempts to entice a corporate employee into assisting with a cyberattack. Insider advertising occurs when an employee or contractor proactively lists their legitimate access or services for sale on illicit marketplaces.

The post Insider Threat Report: Dark Web Recruitment & Access Trends appeared first on Flashpoint.

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Navigating AI-Driven Cyber Threats: Insights from Flashpoint’s 2026 GTIR Midyear Edition

In this post, we preview the critical findings of Flashpoint’s Global Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 Midyear Edition.

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Flashpoint

August 13, 2026

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Flashpoint’s Global Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 Midyear Edition

The Four Driving Themes Shaping the 2026 Threat Landscape

Proactive Security in 2026 and Beyond

More

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In the first half of 2026, the global threat landscape reached a clear operational inflection point: threat operations have fundamentally transitioned from human-led campaigns to machine-speed, AI-driven exploitation. As threat actors gain commoditized access to open-source AI technologies and actively deploy automated, safeguard-free tooling locally on private infrastructure, organizations face an accelerating hybrid risk environment.

Flashpoint’s Global Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 Midyear Edition

The Flashpoint Global Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 Midyear Edition anchors security leaders—from threat intelligence, vulnerability management, to executive leadership—in the data required to navigate this evolving threat landscape. Covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2026, the report delivers timely insights backed by Flashpoint’s proprietary primary-source collection from over 3.9 petabytes of continuously monitored illicit sources.

Our midyear findings reveal several key metrics that highlight the speed and scale of the H1 2026 threat landscape:

• 22M+ threat actor posts discussed, shared, or advertised artificial intelligence toolkits for criminal deployment.
• 1.7B credentials and identity data points extracted across more than 7.4M unique compromised hosts globally.
• Nearly one-in-five (19%) of all vulnerability disclosures dropped with ready-made, functional exploit code.
• 45% period-over-period surge in Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), with total victim volume reaching 6,256 even as victim payout rates dropped to a historic low of 28%.

Download the Flashpoint Global Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 Midyear Edition to gain:

1. A Clear Understanding of the Convergence Between AI and Cyber Threats
   From generating flawless phishing campaigns to automating vulnerability scanning and code obfuscation, discover how adversaries are optimizing for speed and cost-efficiency — utilizing AI as a force multiplier in their various illicit campaigns.
2. A Comprehensive Top-Down View of the Evolving Threat Landscape
   Gain full visibility of the threat landscape with Flashpoint’s primary-source collections and real-time threat intelligence.
3. Strategies for Proactive Defense and Risk Mitigation
   Move your organization beyond reactive incident response by leveraging Flashpoint’s comprehensive threat intelligence. Gain the foresight needed to strengthen defenses and optimize your security posture.

“AI is compressing the time between opportunity and exploitation. Capabilities that once took significant expertise, coordination, and time to develop are becoming faster to build, easier to scale, and harder to detect. Security teams are facing an adversary ecosystem that can use AI to iterate at unprecedented speed — the only way to keep pace is with primary-source intelligence that surfaces adversary behavior before attacks unfold.”

Josh Lefkowitz, Flashpoint Co-Founder & CEO

The Four Driving Themes Shaping the 2026 Threat Landscape

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Threats

During the first half of 2026, Flashpoint captured over 22M illicit posts discussing or advertising AI for criminal-related activities. By stripping ethical safeguards, custom malicious LLMs allow unsophisticated threat actors to automate complex phases of the attack lifecycle, including target profiling, malware evasion script creation, and zero-day exploit generation.

Information-Stealing Malware Threats

Infostealer malware harvested 1.7 billion credentials across 7.4 million compromised systems in H1 2026 alone, turning digital identity into the main entry point for enterprise intrusions.

Vulnerability Intelligence and Patching Management

19% (4,015) of all H1 2026 vulnerability disclosures arrived with ready-made exploit code. Adversaries deploy automated replication scripts almost immediately upon disclosure, eliminating manual remediation windows.

Ransomware Operations, Multi-Extortion Cartels, and Financial Risk

Despite a 45% surge in victim volume (6,256 overall), total on-chain revenue fell by 8% to $820M. Improved enterprise backups and incident response have driven payout rates down to 28%, prompting syndicates to demand larger sums from paying victims.

Proactive Security in 2026 and Beyond

The data shows that traditional enterprise security organizations are struggling to keep pace with modern threat cycles that are accelerated by illicit uses of AI. This continued convergence of AI engines and initial access vectors have further compressed attack timelines, making it nearly impossible for security teams to defend against them—especially if they are limited by traditional approaches to threat intelligence.

Equipping your team with primary-source threat intelligence is critical for protecting critical assets in 2026. Download the Flashpoint Global Threat Intelligence Report: 2026 Midyear Edition to gain the visibility and strategic clarity required to defend your organization.

The post Navigating AI-Driven Cyber Threats: Insights from Flashpoint’s 2026 GTIR Midyear Edition appeared first on Flashpoint.

According to this year’s Microsoft Digital Defense Report, government agencies and services were the sector most impacted by cyber threats in 2026, accounting for 27% of observed activity, up from 17% in 2025. Governments are also the most frequently targeted sectors for nation-state activity. They are attractive targets because they hold sensitive information, operate essential services, and sit at the center of networks of agencies, contractors, technology providers, and critical infrastructure operators.  

Dwell time, the period between when an attacker gains access and when defenders detect and stop them, also increased this year across multiple sectors. While organizations responded faster once an intrusion was identified, detecting threats early remains a challenge. Attackers increasingly gain access through techniques that mimic legitimate activity, making malicious behavior harder to spot. For example, phishing accounted for 23% of observed intrusions in 2026, up from 7% in 2025, highlighting the continued importance of compromised identities as an entry point for broader attacks. 

Taken together, the implication for governments is clear. Security in the AI era is no longer simply about preventing individual intrusions. It is about ensuring institutions can operate effectively in an environment where risks are interconnected, threats move faster, and attackers remain hidden longer. Public-private partnerships are also more important than ever for securing critical government infrastructure and developing the policies and regulations needed for emerging technologies.  

In this year’s report, which examines cyber threat trends observed between July 2025 and June 2026, Terrell Cox, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President & Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, and I explore how these dynamics are reshaping cyber risk. In a companion blog, Terrell takes a closer look at what these findings mean for CISOs and security professionals.

To strengthen resilience, governments should focus on five priorities:

1. Prepare for a faster threat environment 

AI is compressing the window for action. Adversaries are moving faster. A vulnerability’s discovery in the wild to active weaponization can be well below 24 hours. While the number of publicly disclosed software vulnerabilities (commonly tracked as CVEs) is projected to reach a record 72,000 in 2026. 

Governments best prepared for the future will be those that can rapidly gather and assess information, make decisions, coordinate across institutions and industries, and communicate effectively during a crisis. This requires clearly defined responsibilities and trusted relationships established before an incident occurs, enabling swift and coordinated action when it matters most.  

2. Build security into the AI ecosystem  

AI is becoming part of the infrastructure that governments, businesses, and citizens rely on every day. As governments continue to adopt AI across public services and encourage its broader use, they should approach its security as a resilience challenge rather than a narrow technical issue. 

AI systems depend on interconnected infrastructure, data, models, applications, suppliers, and governance processes. Governments should promote security across this ecosystem through secure-by-design practices, testing and evaluation, stronger supply chain protections, transparency, accountability, and international cooperation on AI risk. 

The goal is not to create a separate AI security agenda. It is to integrate AI security into broader efforts to protect critical infrastructure and build national resilience. 

3. Plan for incidents to spread

Governments may not immediately know whether an intrusion is criminal, geopolitical, or something else. Cybercriminals and nation-state actors pursue different objectives, but increasingly rely on many of the same entry points, including compromised identities, exposed applications, social engineering, and legitimate administrative tools. 

Microsoft found that 52.2% of intrusions involving valid accounts resulted in additional credential theft, highlighting how quickly attackers can expand beyond an initial foothold. A seemingly isolated compromise can evolve into ransomware, espionage, data theft, or disruption of essential services. 

Governments should therefore assess incidents not only by how they begin, but by where they could lead. Response plans should account for the suppliers, partners, and service providers supporting critical functions. As attacks expand beyond their initial targets, they can also cross organizational, sectoral, and national boundaries, reinforcing the need for global collaboration. 

4. Enable timely, two-way public-private information sharing 

A compromised account at one organization may provide early warning of a broader campaign. Signals that appear inconclusive in isolation can reveal coordinated activity when combined across organizations and jurisdictions. Modern cybercrime operates through interconnected networks of actors, services, and infrastructure that no single institution can fully see or disrupt on its own. 

Information sharing must be timely, trusted, and two-way—also known as bidirectional. The goal is not simply for companies to report threats to government. Public agencies should also return actionable intelligence, guidance, and warnings that help organizations protect their networks, customers, and operations. Trusted channels can enable this exchange among government agencies, law enforcement, critical infrastructure operators, technology providers, and international partners while respecting legal and privacy requirements. 

Policymakers can support this cooperation through protections for good-faith information sharing, common anonymization standards, and investment in shared threat intelligence and detection capabilities. Information sharing should also lead to action, including investigations, disruption efforts, and accountability for those responsible for serious cyber intrusions. 

5. Prepare essential services to operate through disruption

The organizations governments depend on to deliver public services, including transportation systems, communications infrastructure, schools, universities, and critical infrastructure operators, are increasingly targeted by cyber threats. Resilience therefore requires understanding not only government systems, but the broader ecosystem that supports them.

Planning documents alone are not enough. Governments should regularly conduct tabletop exercises bringing together policymakers, operational leaders, law enforcement, critical infrastructure operators, and private-sector partners to test how they would respond to incidents disrupting essential services. These exercises can expose gaps in decision-making, information sharing, public communications, and cross-sector coordination before a real-world crisis. Microsoft’s work through initiatives such as the Advancing Regional Cybersecurity (ARC) program, most recently in Kenya, illustrates how scenario-based exercises and cross-sector collaboration can help strengthen preparedness and response capabilities across the broader ecosystem. 

Government leaders should also know which services are most critical, which identities, systems, suppliers, and infrastructure support them, and how incidents will be escalated. Shared-service approaches can help extend security and response capabilities to local governments and public institutions that cannot build them independently. 

As cyber incidents cross organizational and national boundaries, resilience depends not only on technical preparedness, but on whether institutions can coordinate effectively under pressure. 

In an era of AI-enabled and increasingly interconnected cyber threats, resilience is no longer simply about recovering from an attack. It is about preparing for a world in which cyber incidents move faster, spread further, and affect more organizations than ever before. Governments best prepared for the future will be those that can contain harm, adapt quickly, and continue delivering critical services when citizens need them the most.  

The post Preparing governments for an era of interconnected cyber risk appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

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Ransomware Risk Model: Flashpoint’s Patented Scoring Method to Inform Vulnerability Prioritization

Flashpoint was awarded U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360 for its Ransomware Risk model, which rates how closely new vulnerabilities match those used in ransomware attacks.

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Flashpoint

October 1, 2026

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Under the Hood: How Flashpoint’s Patented Ransomware Vulnerability Model Works

Comprehensive Vulnerability Intelligence Integration

Protect Against Vulnerability and Ransomware Risk Using Flashpoint

Ransomware Risk FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

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Vulnerability and exposure management (VM) teams need critical metadata and context that clearly show which issues pose an immediate risk to their organization. While traditional VM frameworks tell defenders how severe a vulnerability may be, they do not provide visibility into how likely threat actors are to exploit it. This leaves security teams overwhelmed in patch backlogs without a clear strategy for prioritization.

Nowhere is this prioritization gap more dangerous than with ransomware. Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) groups no longer choose targets at random. They look for specific technical conditions that make vulnerability exploitation easy, fast, and repeatable. With RaaS attacks rising by 45% period-over-period in H1 2026, organizations need a way to identify the specific traits that make a vulnerability attractive to ransomware operators before an attack occurs.

Flashpoint built the Ransomware Risk score into Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence to solve exactly this problem. Since 2022, it has rated newly discovered vulnerabilities based on how closely they resemble those known to be used in ransomware attacks. With the grant of the U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360 on August 11, 2026, the methodology behind the score is now formally patented. This milestone formalizes Flashpoint’s ability to cut through the noise with a proven, threat-informed signal that gives defenders the clarity they need to act on Day Zero.

“As vulnerability disclosures surge, prioritization is more important than ever for security teams. A severity score alone can’t tell you which vulnerabilities pose the greatest real-world risk of exploitation by ransomware actors.

Our patented Ransomware Risk model applies years of threat intelligence to that problem, giving customers an earlier signal and helping them prioritize based on how attackers actually operate.”

josh lefkowitz, co-founder and ceo at flashpoint

Under the Hood: How Flashpoint’s Patented Ransomware Vulnerability Model Works

The patented system evaluates newly disclosed vulnerabilities against the patterns shared by vulnerabilities ransomware groups have exploited. Rather than trying to predict what threat actors will do next, the model learns what past ransomware-exploited vulnerabilities have in common and compares each new flaw against those patterns.

The Four Step Process

Multi-Factor Fingerprinting

Every vulnerability ingested into Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence is profiled against more than 60 distinct technical factors. This “fingerprinting” links the vulnerability to key inputs including whether the flaw is remotely exploitable without authentication, whether it affects SCADA or Operational Technology (OT) systems, and its potential impact on data availability, which is central to extortion schemes.

Coordinate Mapping

The model turns each multi-factor fingerprint into a set of values that place it as a single point on a map, so vulnerabilities with similar profiles land close together.

Identifying the Ransomware Neighborhood (Cluster Check)

Flashpoint overlays historical threat data onto the map to establish neighborhoods where vulnerabilities previously exploited in real-world ransomware attacks aggregate.

Similarity and Likelihood Rating

When a new vulnerability is ingested, its coordinates are checked against these neighborhoods. The scoring system calculates its spatial proximity to known ransomware vectors and assigns a clear rating: Low, Medium, High, or Critical.

This four-step method, developed by Flashpoint’s Ben Haynes and Jacob Kouns, is the basis of U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360.

What It Means for Vulnerability Management Teams

By translating complex structural attributes into a single risk score, the patented model delivers four key operational advantages:

1. Prioritize Beyond CVSS: Leveraging the Ransomware Risk model, security teams can confidently prioritize 1.0 to 6.9 CVSS issues if its structural profile lands it in a “High” or “Critical” ransomware cluster.
2. Act on Day Zero: Because the Flashpoint model rates all vulnerabilities on disclosure, security teams gain actionable guidance immediately, eliminating the need to wait weeks for external exploitation reports.
3. Effectively Communicate Risk: CISOs can present clear, business-centric risk statements rather than abstract numerical scores.
4. Adaptive Ratings: Scores update in near real time as vulnerability details change, and the model keeps adjusting as new vulnerabilities join the set it compares against.

Comprehensive Vulnerability Intelligence Integration

Flashpoint’s Ransomware Risk model is built to enhance, not replace the vulnerability management frameworks organizations already rely on. In fact, it provides even greater value for security teams as our Ransomware Risk model provides clarity for every vulnerability detailed by Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence, including over 105,000 issues missed by CVE and NVD.

Within Flashpoint Ignite, security teams have a complete view of vulnerability risk, seeing the score alongside CVSS (v3 and v4), EPSS, Social Risk, and exploit maturity.

Protect Against Vulnerability and Ransomware Risk Using Flashpoint

Vulnerability management requires more than cataloging. It demands threat-informed prioritization that aligns security operations with real-world business risk. Flashpoint’s patented Ransomware Risk model eliminates guesswork by surfacing the flaws that match the profile of known ransomware targets, allowing security teams to patch what matters most, first. 

By combining proprietary knowledge of vulnerability architecture and ransomware attacks, Flashpoint bridges the gap between theoretical and active exposure. Request a demo today to see how our Ransomware Risk model provides the definitive signal needed to stay ahead of extortion groups.

Ransomware Risk FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is the Ransomware Risk score? 

The Ransomware Risk score is a rating in Flashpoint Vulnerability Intelligence that shows how closely a vulnerability resembles those known to be used in ransomware attacks. Each vulnerability is rated Low, Medium, High, or Critical, so security teams can see which ones to patch first to reduce their ransomware exposure.

How is Ransomware Risk different from CVSS and EPSS?

CVSS measures how severe a vulnerability could be, and EPSS estimates how likely it is to be exploited in general. Ransomware Risk adds a ransomware-specific signal that works alongside both, showing how closely a vulnerability matches those ransomware groups have used. In Flashpoint Ignite, all three scores appear together.

What does Flashpoint’s ransomware patent cover?

U.S. Patent No. 12,705,360, granted August 11, 2026, covers Flashpoint’s method for rating how likely a vulnerability is to be used in a ransomware event. Each vulnerability is profiled on more than 60 factors, compared with vulnerabilities used in past ransomware attacks, and rated by similarity. The patent formalizes the model behind the Ransomware Risk score, live since 2022.

How often are Ransomware Risk scores updated?

Ransomware Risk scores update in near real time, so new vulnerabilities are rated as soon as they’re disclosed. The model also keeps adjusting as new vulnerabilities join the body it compares against, so ratings reflect the ransomware landscape as it stands today.

The post Ransomware Risk Model: Flashpoint’s Patented Scoring Method to Inform Vulnerability Prioritization appeared first on Flashpoint.

Microsoft has served the Middle East since it began operations in the region in 1991. Since then, we’ve steadily expanded our presence and investments, growing from a local technology provider into a long-term partner to governments, businesses, educational institutions, and civil society organizations. Today, Microsoft is reaffirming that commitment through a new framework focused initially on Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.  

We are expanding our investments in the Middle East with confidence in the region’s future as it pursues one of the world’s most ambitious AI transformations. We will add to our local partnerships across the region. We will build on the work we have done to stand by these countries’ governments and people through a period of significant challenges. As we look to the future, we will invest further in technology, digital resilience, and the people across the region.   

From now until 2030, we will pursue the following initiatives with our partners in the region:  

Technology

We will expand cloud and AI infrastructure across the Middle East 

Microsoft will continue to invest in cloud and AI infrastructure across the region, expanding capacity, launching new capabilities, and delivering long-term infrastructure commitments. We plan to invest more than $10 billion in capital and operating expenses between now and 2030 in the region.  

We will deepen our partnerships through national AI champions 

Microsoft will deepen strategic partnerships with governments and national AI champion organizations to translate AI ambition into economic growth, modern public services, and global competitiveness. This builds on work with organizations including HUMAIN, G42, QAI, and the Government of Kuwait, alongside digital-government initiatives such as TAMM in the UAE, SDAIA’s ALLaM in Saudi Arabia, TASMU in Qatar, and Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption across the Government of Kuwait. 

These partnerships will support responsible AI adoption, sovereign-ready cloud services, Arabic and multilingual AI, and the use of AI to improve services for citizens and businesses. They will be supported by capabilities including Microsoft Sovereign Public Cloud, Sovereign Private Cloud, and Project Digital Shield, where relevant and available. 

We will invest in subsea and terrestrial connectivity 

Digital resilience depends on strong and reliable networks. Protecting subsea and terrestrial connectivity requires sustained cooperation between governments and the private sector, but the foundation of continuity is redundancy.  A diverse network of high-capacity routes allows traffic to be rerouted around disruptions, minimizing latency and maintaining critical data flows.  

Microsoft has helped expand both the capacity and reliability of digital connectivity across regions through investments in major international subsea cable systems, including SeaMeWe-6, which has landings in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as operating a global network spanning more than 275,000 miles of terrestrial and subsea fiber. During network disruptions, Microsoft has demonstrated the value of redundancy by rerouting traffic through Middle East corridors and maintaining service continuity with minimal impact on customers.  

Building on this foundation, Microsoft plans to invest more than $400 million in subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030. This investment will expand capacity, strengthen regional data flows, and support Microsoft’s growing cloud and AI infrastructure footprint across the region.  

We will build AI infrastructure with the planet in mind

As we expand our cloud and AI infrastructure in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, we will do so with a focus on responsible growth. Guided by Microsoft’s global goals to address carbon, water, waste, and ecosystems, we will work with our lessor partners to ensure that the cloud infrastructure supporting our services advances Microsoft’s water-positive ambitions, including by prioritizing zero-water cooling technologies where feasible. 

Water resilience is particularly important across the Middle East. Building on Microsoft’s global experience advancing water stewardship through water reuse, replenishment, and innovative water management solutions, we will work with governments and local stakeholders to identify opportunities that advance responsible water stewardship across the region. 

As AI accelerates economic opportunity across the Middle East, expanding access to clean energy will be essential to ensuring this growth is sustainable. We will also collaborate with regulators, utilities, and our lessor partners to help create the market conditions needed to expand carbon-free electricity procurement and stimulate new clean energy investment. By combining infrastructure investment with local partnerships and innovation, we aim to support the region’s energy and water priorities while helping build the sustainable foundations needed for long-term AI-led economic growth. 

Digital resilience

We will launch a new Middle East digital resilience initiative 

Conflict in the Middle East has reinforced the connection between digital resilience and digital sovereignty. Microsoft has worked with customers to support business continuity through resilience options tailored to different operational and regulatory needs. Going forward, Microsoft will make digital resilience a cornerstone of its Middle East strategy, helping organizations strengthen continuity and recovery through digital resilience assessments, reference architectures, readiness guidance, continuity planning, and enablement programs that help identify vulnerabilities, protect critical data, and build tested recovery capabilities.  

We will strengthen data protection, privacy, and business continuity 

Microsoft will expand our existing commitments on data-protection sovereignty and business continuity to eligible governments and customers in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. These are designed to give organizations greater confidence in how their data, systems, and operations are protected while maintaining continuity in times of uncertainty. They will be complemented by Microsoft’s growing sovereign-cloud portfolio, including Sovereign Public Cloud and Sovereign Private Cloud capabilities, together with Project Digital Shield and other capabilities that support security, privacy, transparency, and operational resilience. 

 We will expand and strengthen cybersecurity cooperation 

As Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE accelerate their digital transformation, cybersecurity has become a core pillar of national and economic security. As governments, critical infrastructure, and economies become more connected, cyber threats and influence operations can have consequences that extend far beyond physical borders.  That’s why we are announcing that we are deepening our partnerships with the cybersecurity authorities in these countries.  

A network of dedicated Microsoft cybersecurity champions in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will help governments translate these resources into action and connect national priorities with expertise across Microsoft. Stronger cybersecurity benefits far more than individual networks. It helps build trust to ensure digital transformation will succeed.  

We will advance responsible AI through governance, assurance, and inclusion 

Microsoft will work with governments, businesses, researchers, and civil society organizations across the Middle East to help people and institutions benefit from new technology. As AI advances, realizing its full potential will require not only access to powerful technology, but the governance, assurance, and skills required to deploy it confidently and responsibly.  

We will help strengthen AI governance capabilities across the region and support practical approaches to testing, evaluating, and assurance systems. We will also expand collaboration with the Responsible AI Future Foundation (RAIFF), co-founded with G42 and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), to support the development and sharing of responsible AI practices and evaluation tools that can be applied across high-impact AI use cases in the Middle East and beyond.  

By helping organizations align with emerging international practices, we aim to strengthen confidence in AI systems, support responsible innovation, enhance global competitiveness, and ensure that the Middle East plays an active role in shaping the future of AI. 

We will advance AI for Good research and innovation 

Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab will continue to support the region through research and partnerships focused on food security, low-resource language development, and climate and disaster resilience. This includes work through initiatives such as the LINGUA program, which supports the development of language technologies for underserved communities.  

In partnership with governments, NGOs, nonprofits, and research institutions, the AI for Good Lab will continue developing and scaling AI solutions that address real-world challenges across the Middle East and beyond.  

People

We will prepare the next generation for the AI economy 

We believe AI should enhance human ambition, strengthen human capability, and help prepare workers to thrive in a changing economy. That is why Microsoft will continue to invest in AI skills, workforce readiness, public-sector capability building, and inclusive talent development across Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, building on existing commitments to help skill more than 4.2 million people by 2030.

This work includes training for public-sector leaders, students, and workers; initiatives focused on expanding opportunities for women; and partnerships with educational institutions across the region. This work builds on programs such as Saudi Arabia’s AI Global Leadership Program, AI Skills 4 Women programs in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the Women’s Datacenter Academy in Saudi Arabia. Microsoft will also engage with workforce coalitions that can support national talent strategies and policy recommendations. 

We will help education communities prepare learners for the AI era 

Microsoft is working with governments, educators, institutions, and partners across the Middle East to develop responsible AI principles across primary, secondary, and tertiary education. This includes supporting AI literacy, helping educators integrate AI into teaching and learning, and sharing practical guidance for responsible AI use in educational settings. Across Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, we will work with local partners to ensure students and educators can benefit from AI safely, responsibly, and effectively and will engage educators, policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society to support practical approaches to AI implementation that reflect local priorities. 

We will help empower workers in the AI economy 

We will partner with governments, employers, workers, education providers, and other stakeholders to help people adapt to changing workplace demands. Our focus is on practical skills development, workforce readiness, and leadership development that helps countries build competitive economies and create new opportunities for workers in an AI-enabled future.  

We will support local and national AI talent priorities across the Middle East 

Microsoft is partnering with governments, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to support national talent priorities by advancing AI skills, leadership development, and workforce readiness programs for public-sector leaders, students, underrepresented talent, and people across the Middle East. The goal is to help countries build globally competitive workforces, accelerate innovation, and unlock new economic opportunities in the AI era.  

From ambition to impact

While no one can predict the future, one thing is certain: Microsoft has been part of this region’s journey for more than 35 years, and we are committed to being a partner for the long term. We look forward to continuing to work alongside governments, businesses, educators, and communities to help build that future together. 

The post Microsoft strengthens its commitment to the Middle East by investing in technology, digital resilience, and people appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

Microsoft has disrupted EvilTokens, a powerful cybercrime platform that used AI at every step of the attack chain—from compromising email accounts to designing intricate roadmaps for financial fraud and scams. While EvilTokens helped cybercriminals access email accounts, at the center of the service was an AI-style chatbot that could analyze a victim’s inbox and help criminals identify trusted relationships, payment authorizations, and sensitive responsibilities, as well as other circumstances where fraud was most likely to succeed. The platform could even recommend fraud strategies, including drafting messages that impersonated trusted contacts to help criminals trick victims into taking action. 

In short, AI was not simply helping attackers write more convincing messages. It helped them decide who to target, who to impersonate, and how to most effectively exploit the relationship to extract as much money as possible.   

Within months of launching in February 2026, EvilTokens had been linked to more than 12,000 compromised email inboxes across over 10,000 organizations worldwide, showing how quickly the service gained traction. Microsoft observed the highest concentrations of victim activity in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and France. Affected organizations ranged from wholesale distribution and construction to financial services, real estate, higher education, and healthcare. Working with partners, Microsoft seized 50 websites used to operate the service and disabled more than 150 additional domains tied to its supporting infrastructure. In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Police Service’s cybercrime team arrested two men on suspicion of offenses connected with the alleged operation of EvilTokens.  

But the significance of EvilTokens extends beyond its rapid growth and global reach. It offers an early warning of what happens when cybercriminals combine stolen access with AI capable of understanding how an organization works. 

From account access to financial fraud

EvilTokens helped criminals gain access to email accounts by tricking victims into entering an authentication code on Microsoft’s legitimate sign-in page. By completing the normal authentication sign-in process, victims unknowingly gave criminals access to their email accounts without revealing their passwords. That access could persist even after a password reset if the associated sessions and tokens were not also revoked. Microsoft Threat Intelligence provides additional technical details about the operation, how device-code attacks work, and steps customers can take to protect themselves here. 

Once inside an account, criminals have traditionally needed time and experience to sift through thousands of messages, identify decision-makers, understand payment processes, and find opportunities for fraud. 

EvilTokens began automating that work. Its AI tools could summarize and translate emails, surface financial conversations, map organizational roles, identify trusted relationships, and recommend potential targets. Preset prompts offered to find wire-transfer discussions, identify the organization’s “money movers,” locate vendor invoices, and determine the best people to impersonate.

Sold through Telegram for a $1,500 initiation fee and a recurring $500 subscription, EvilTokens combined account compromise, mailbox analysis, target selection, and fraud preparation in a single service. Capabilities that once required experience across identity attacks, cloud systems, social engineering, and financial fraud were available through a ready-made interface.

AI lowered the barriers at both ends

Investigators found evidence that large portions of EvilTokens had been “vibe coded,” with AI helping its creators build the platform itself. They also determined that EvilTokens drew on capabilities from multiple AI models. 

The result was more than a collection of attack tools. EvilTokens packaged much of the fraud process into a commercially run service, complete with subscription pricing, customer support, management dashboards, and tools designed to move customers from account access toward financial exploitation.

Disrupting the platform

No single organization could disrupt EvilTokens alone. The service relied on hosting providers, cloud services, AI tools, financial services, and other online resources that cybercriminals repurposed to support fraud at scale. 

The disruption combined civil legal action with coordinated operational work across industry and law enforcement. Because healthcare organizations were among those targeted, Health-ISAC—a global non–profit that helps health sector organizations share cyber threat information and collaborate to improve operational resilience—joined Microsoft’s legal action as a co-plaintiff.

With authorization from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Microsoft and Health-ISAC worked with Cloudflare, Coinbase, OpenAI, Railway, SpyCloud, The Shadowserver Foundation, and TRM Labs to act against key parts of the platform. Microsoft also notified affected customers, helped remediate compromised accounts, and shared intelligence to support further defensive and investigative action.

The operation also demonstrated the value of rapid cooperation between private-sector investigators and law enforcement. Microsoft worked closely with specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police Service’s cybercrime team, sharing intelligence that enabled officers to take operational action in the United Kingdom. On September 11, 2026, officers arrested two men, aged 32 and 38, and seized digital devices and other items for examination. Both men have been released on police bail subject to conditions while the investigation continues. 

While EvilTokens used AI to identify targets and prioritize fraud opportunities, Microsoft investigators used reverse engineering and AI-powered tools to analyze evidence, accelerate the investigation, and identify the infrastructure supporting the service. The case shows how AI is changing not only how cybercriminals operate, but also how defenders investigate and disrupt them. 

This action marks the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit’s (DCU) 40th court-authorized disruption spanning nearly two decades of targeting cyber threat actors, malicious tools, and supporting infrastructure. It is also DCU’s first action against an end-to-end AI-enabled cybercrime service. 

What EvilTokens reveals about cybercrime’s next phase

The infrastructure supporting EvilTokens has been disrupted, but the model it demonstrated will not disappear with it. As Microsoft notes in its 2026 Responsible AI Transparency Report, increasingly capable and accessible AI is being used to scale fraud, impersonation, and other forms of online abuse. EvilTokens offers an early example of how those capabilities can be combined with compromised accounts to accelerate financial fraud. 

For organizations, the lesson is: assume that once an inbox is compromised, criminals may understand its contents in minutes, not days. Strong identity protections and monitoring remain essential, but organizations should also independently verify requests to change payment information, redirect funds, or approve unusual transactions through a trusted second channel.

 

The post Disrupting EvilTokens: The AI Chatbot Built for Cybercrime appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.

Today we published our latest Global AI Diffusion Report. Global AI diffusion continued to climb in the second quarter of 2026. In June, AI usage was 18.8% of the working-age population worldwide, an increase of about 1% from the first quarter of this year. Growth was broad-based: almost every economy saw increased usage.

Notably, the UAE (73.3%) and Singapore (64.3%) continue to top the leaderboard. South Korea again saw the largest absolute change, with an increase of 3.5 percentage points. Saudi Arabia climbed five places from 30th to 25th, the largest rise in the rankings. Japan recorded the largest relative change, growing by 2.2 percentage points, or roughly 10% relative to its Q1 usage of 22.5%. Worldwide, the quarter brought a continued widening of the AI gap between the Global North and South, with usage now at 28.8% in the North and 16.2% in the South.

To track all these trends, we continue to measure AI diffusion as the share of people worldwide ages of 15 and 64 who have used a generative AI product during the reported period. This measure is derived from aggregated and anonymized Microsoft telemetry data and is adjusted to reflect differences in operating system and device market share, internet penetration, and population. Additional details on the methodology are available in our AI Diffusion technical paper.

No single metric is perfect, and this one is no exception. Through the Microsoft AI Economy Institute, we continue to refine how we measure AI diffusion globally, including how adoption varies across countries in ways that best advance priorities such as scientific discovery and productivity gains. For this report, we rely on the strongest cross-country measure available today. Over the past year, there has been a significant rise in new AI tools and models. For our next report, we will expand our measure to include usage of these new tools and expect this update to increase AI user share across almost all economies, with larger projected increases in China.

In addition to our comparison of AI diffusion between the Global North and the Global South, we also find important differences in how AI is being used. Using consumer Microsoft Copilot usage insights, we examined these differences. The most notable difference is a higher share of education and learning use in the Global South.

This report also includes a substantive discussion of open-weight AI models. Open-weight AI model use is increasingly visible through application programming interface (API) usage of AI, where open models have captured a growing share of token volume. This shift could especially benefit the Global South by lowering access costs and enabling adaptation to local languages and needs, although barriers such as infrastructure, connectivity, and skills remain.

Download the latest Global AI Diffusion report and explore the data here.

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