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Microsoft Defender Experts Blog
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Cloud shadows: How attackers exploit Azure’s elasticity for stealth and scale

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Pranavahebbar
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Oct 27, 2025

Today’s cloud environments are complex, spanning multiple clouds, containers, and dynamic resources that are hard to monitor and control. Misconfigured settings, unclear shared responsibility between providers, administrators, and users, and over-permissioned accounts often create vulnerabilities. At the same time, a shortage of skilled professionals and evolving cyber threats targeting clouds make it harder to protect data and maintain visibility. Overall, the speed, scale, and dynamic nature of the cloud have outpaced traditional security solutions and many of the teams who manage them.

Threats like password spray or adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) are routine and too easily overlooked in an endless stream of security alerts. But what if these routine threats are only a small part of...
Updated Oct 24, 2025
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