Identity security is the new pressure point for modern cyberattacks

Microsoft Security Blog roundup (Mar 16–25, 2026): multiple posts covering elevated identity-focused threats and defensive guidance. Key items include a deep analysis of a Trivy supply‑chain compromise that injected credential‑stealing malware into CI/CD pipelines and recommended detection/mitigation steps; a Defender case study showing predictive shielding prevented GPO‑based ransomware at scale; guidance and tooling around Zero Trust for AI, agent governance, and observability for AI systems; an open benchmark (CTI‑REALM) for AI-driven detection rule generation; and seasonal phishing/malware