The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 reveals an alarming trend where nation-states have increasingly partnered with cybercriminals in the past year, utilizing their capabilities for intelligence gathering, financial gain, and to leverage tools like infostealers and ransomware. Russia, Iran, and North Korea are highlighted for such collaborations, with examples of outsourced cyberespionage operations, ransomware attacks, and intelligence gathering through cyber activities, targeting countries like Ukraine, US, and Iran. The report also emphasizes the concentrated nation-state cyber activities around regions of military conflict, like Ukraine and the South China Sea, and mentions how Russia, Iran, and China are involved in influencing the US election through various campaigns to sway public opinion and undermine democracy
Moreover, there was a significant rise in ransomware attacks targeting Microsoft customers, with top ransomware groups utilizing social engineering techniques and exploiting vulnerabilities to launch attacks, leading to a threefold decrease in encryption stage successful attacks, attributed to automatic attack disruption and attackers focusing more on data exfiltration over encryption. ```https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nation-states-cybercriminals/