India seventh most targeted by cyberattacks: MS executive Nicholas Butts
Reported by Times of India Business, not nibnow. We are not the publisher of this story, only the source is.
The report highlights that India is among the most targeted nations for cyberattacks, with AI-powered ransomware and state-sponsored espionage posing direct risks to businesses and national security. Understanding these specific threats helps organizations prioritize defenses against increasingly sophisticated and automated attacks.
Butts cited Storm 3168, also called Jadepuffer, which he described as a China-based ransomware operation using AI agents against customers worldwide. He also pointed to Russian and Chinese state-sponsored actors deploying agents for espionage, including a group Microsoft tracks as Storm 0940. AI was also lowering the barriers for smaller criminal operations, he said.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts victim data and demands payment for its release, while state-sponsored actors are government-backed groups that conduct cyber operations for espionage or strategic advantage. The integration of AI into these attacks lowers the technical barrier for criminals and increases the scale and speed of potential breaches.
- •Updates on Microsoft's threat intelligence reports regarding new AI-driven ransomware variants.
- •Government or organizational responses to mitigate risks from identified state-sponsored groups like Storm 0940.
- •Broader trends in how AI agents are being utilized by both criminal and state actors to lower the cost of cyber operations.