Russia, Iran and North Korea have changed their cyberattack tactics in the past year, Microsoft reports.

Cybercriminals are actively helping Russia and China attack the United States.

Microsoft users are exposed to more than 600 million cyberattacks every day, partly due to the collaboration of cybercriminal groups with states. Countries such as Russia, Iran and North Korea have changed their practices this year, including the use of artificial intelligence, according to a report from Digital Defense. Tom Burt, the company's vice president of security and customer trust, noted the need to strengthen digital domains to protect networks, data and people at all levels.

Russia appears to be “outsourcing” some of its cyber espionage to criminal groups, especially regarding espionage in Ukraine. In June, an alleged cybercriminal group managed to hack more than 50 Ukrainian military devices. North Korea has created a new extortion technology called FakePenny, used against defense and aerospace organizations.

Iran is focusing on Israel and is accused of hacking Israeli dating sites. Criminal groups linked to Iran offered to remove certain users from hacked databases for a fee.

The use of artificial intelligence in cyber attacks has also increased, with criminals in Russia and China using AI-generated content to trick users.

Burt noted that “so far we haven't seen this content be effective in engaging audiences.” The German National Intelligence Service reported cyber attacks by GRU Unit 29155 against NATO and the EU. German intelligence reported the UNC2589 group in conjunction with the FBI, CISA, NSA and other international partners.