How cyberattackers exploit domain controllers using ransomware

Modern human-operated ransomware campaigns increasingly target domain controllers to obtain high‑privilege accounts and access central network assets, enabling rapid, large-scale encryption; the report outlines attacker TTPs (privilege escalation, network reconnaissance, persistence), presents a case study of an attempted Akira ransomware deployment, and describes Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's automatic attack disruption and "contain high value assets" (HVA) capability that granularly contains compromised domain controllers to stop lateral movement while maintaining essential authentication services.