Microsoft has released its 2026 Digital Defense Report, providing an overview of the cybersecurity threats observed across the global digital landscape between July 2025 and June 2026.
The report highlights how cyberattacks are becoming more automated and increasingly connected to artificial intelligence. Microsoft says attackers are using AI across multiple stages of the attack chain, including reconnaissance, phishing, malware development and other activities.
INDIA'S POSITION IN THE REPORT
India is listed among the countries whose Microsoft customer environments experienced significant cyber-threat impact during the reporting period.
The country-level data should not be interpreted as a general ranking of countries by cybersecurity or as a measure of the total number of cyberattacks. Instead, it reflects Microsoft's observed customer-impact data within its threat intelligence ecosystem.
HOW AI IS CHANGING CYBERATTACKS
Microsoft says artificial intelligence is lowering barriers for attackers and helping them automate parts of traditional cyberattack processes.
AI can be used to help attackers research targets, generate convincing phishing content, automate social-engineering campaigns and assist with malware-related activities.
The same technology is also being used by cybersecurity teams to detect threats, analyse large volumes of security data and respond to attacks more quickly.
MORE SOFTWARE VULNERABILITIES
The report also highlights the continuing growth in software vulnerabilities.
Microsoft recorded nearly 40,000 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) during the first half of 2026, showing the scale of the challenge faced by organisations trying to secure increasingly complex software environments.
WHY CYBERSECURITY IS BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT
Businesses, governments and individuals increasingly depend on cloud services, connected devices, AI systems and digital platforms.
As the number of connected systems grows, attackers have more opportunities to target vulnerable software, stolen credentials and exposed infrastructure.
Microsoft's report suggests that organisations need to combine security monitoring, vulnerability management, identity protection and AI-powered security tools to respond to these evolving threats.
AI IS BEING USED ON BOTH SIDES
One of the major themes of the report is that AI is becoming part of both offensive and defensive cybersecurity.
Attackers can use AI to make campaigns faster and more scalable, while defenders can use AI to identify suspicious activity, analyse threats and automate parts of their security response.
This creates an ongoing technology race in which organisations need to continuously improve their security systems as attack techniques evolve.
Microsoft's 2026 Digital Defense Report is based on Microsoft's global threat intelligence and observations covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
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