Microsoft’s 2025 Digital Defense Report reveals that over half of cyberattacks with known motives were driven by extortion or ransomware, highlighting a shift toward financially motivated threats. The report emphasizes that legacy security measures are no longer sufficient, as attackers increasingly use AI and off-the-shelf tools to scale operations. Critical services like hospitals and local governments are prime targets, and nation-state actors are expanding their reach. Microsoft urges organizations to adopt modern, AI-powered defenses and multifactor authentication, which can block over 99% of identity-based attacks.