Hackers are increasingly using stolen identities to breach organizations, impersonating employees or contractors before stealing data and launching ransomware, according to new research.
Microsoft’s 85-page Digital Defense Report 2025 covers dozens of pertinent cybersecurity issues including ransomware, nation-state attacks, AI and more. But the company’s researchers said the one statistic that stood out more than most others was the continued success of password attacks that allowed hackers to take over victim accounts.
Despite a growing sophistication of cyber threats, “more than 97% of identity attacks are password attacks. In the first half of 2025 alone, identity based attacks surged by 32%,” said Amy Hogan-Burney, a corporate vice president at Microsoft.
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