Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast The New Frontlines of Cybersecurity: Lessons from the 2025 Digital Defense Report
Oct 22, 2025
Crane Hassold, a Principal Security Researcher at Microsoft, and Chloé Messdaghi, Senior Reporting Manager leading the Microsoft Digital Defense Report, dive into the evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats. They discuss how AI is shaping both attacker strategies and defensive measures, highlighting that over 99% of attacks begin with identity compromise. The duo explains the fusion of nation-state operations and cybercrime, as well as the risks posed by AI-enhanced phishing and the significance of emerging threat intelligence from expansive telemetry.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Attackers Pivot Beyond Email
- Threat actors are using AI and pivoting away from email to platforms like SMS, Teams, and WhatsApp to evade legacy detections.
- This shift forces defenders to expand detection beyond email to newer communication channels.
Cybercrime Is Regional And Industrialized
- Financially motivated cybercrime dominates daily attacks and is highly regionalized in tactics and structure.
- Eastern Europe produces structured, technical campaigns while West Africa drives high-volume social-engineering fraud.
Enable MFA Everywhere
- Protect identity as the primary defense by enabling multi-factor authentication across accounts.
- Chloe Messdaghi states having MFA prevents about 99% of observed attacks.