Israel Ranks Second Globally in Cyberattack Exposure, Microsoft Report Finds

Israel ranked second worldwide in exposure to cyberattack activities, according to Microsoft's 2026 Digital Defense Report. The report indicated that Israel accounted for 7.6% of the total cyber activity monitored by Microsoft during the reporting period. The United States led with 25.5%, followed by Israel, then Ukraine at 4.8% and Taiwan at 3.9%. Israel registered the highest level of observed cyber activity in the Middle East and Africa region.

Furthermore, the report highlighted Israel as the primary target for cyber activity linked to Iranian threat actors. Approximately 39% of all Iranian-attributed cyber activity monitored by Microsoft targeted Israel, compared to 23% for the United States and 9% for the UAE. The data also revealed a 21% increase in ransomware attacks against Israeli targets.

Microsoft noted that the time between the discovery of certain vulnerabilities and their exploitation in attacks has decreased to less than 24 hours. The company also pointed out that artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing the cybersecurity landscape. Threat actors are using AI for reconnaissance, social engineering, malware development, and vulnerability exploitation, while security teams are employing it for faster threat detection and response.

The annual report is based on threat intelligence data collected by Microsoft's global security system, which processes over 165 trillion security signals daily.