Geopolitics and Cybersecurity: Why Attackers Go After Identities and Privileged Access First

Cybersecurity must no longer just focus on protecting against zero‑day vulnerabilities or malware. Increasingly, geopolitical instability is the motivation behind attacks, spilling global tensions into corporate environments. In many cases, attackers are going after the privilege pathways that real users rely on every day, like usernames and passwords, high‑level access rights, and paths into sensitive systems that are not well monitored or watched.

For cybersecurity teams, this means identity and privileged access are the main battleground.

Identity and Access Risk in a Geopolitical Context

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, “In 2026, geopolitics remains the top factor influencing overall cyber risk mitigation strategies.”

The report highlights that geopolitical instability is driving major shifts in cybersecurity strategies, with attackers increasingly exploiting trusted access paths and automated tools to take advantage of these tensions.

The report also found that confidence in national cyber preparedness continues to erode, with 31% of survey respondents reporting low confidence in their nation’s ability to respond to major cyber incidents, up from 26% last year.

One clear example is the ongoing cyber campaigns against Ukraine, where Russian‑linked attackers have repeatedly targeted government systems, energy grids, and telecommunications infrastructure. These attacks disrupted power and communications, including air‑raid warning systems, and gave attackers persistent access to networks for data theft and further disruption.

According to a report by Microsoft, some of the most common intrusion techniques observed across Russia-aligned cyber operations include: “Credential theft and use of valid accounts throughout the attack lifecycle, making ‘identities’ a key intrusion vector” and “use of valid administration protocols, tools, and methods for lateral movement, relying on compromised identities with administrative capability”.

This paints a clear picture of how compromised privileged accounts can escalate from organizational issues to national‑level consequences, highlighting why identity and access are critical battlegrounds in a geopolitical context.

If the news headlines talk about international conflicts or tensions between countries, the practical lesson for organizations is clear. Identity and privileged access are where attackers look first.

As we’ve seen, many geopolitical threats look to take advantage of privileged access as an intrusion path. So, a strong identity security approach is key to building up a strong defense against geopolitically motivated attacks. Here are a few examples of cybersecurity best practices that are grounded in identity security and privileged access management and directly defend against these types of threats:

• Visibility into privileges and privilege pathways. Organizations should look to gain a clear picture of how privileges are obtained throughout their environments, including indirect or unknown pathways that could be used to escalate privileges or cross different identity domains.

• Just-in-time access for privileged accounts and sessions. It’s also important to manage and monitor highly-privileged activities, especially within critical infrastructure environments. Both internal and external (vendor) sessions should be monitored and managed, with every user only receiving the amount of access that they need, exactly when it’s needed.

• Strong credential hygiene. Organizations should also consider how they are managing credentials, prioritizing best practices such as securely vaulting and rotating credentials.

Total PASM+, which amplifies Privileged Account and Session Management (PASM) capabilities with the cross-domain visibility and risk intelligence of BeyondTrust Identity Security Insights™, helps make these best practices a reality across your environments. Instead of leaving critical entry points unmonitored, Total PASM+ helps teams control and secure the things attackers try to use:

• Privileged Remote Access manages and monitors high‑level sessions, enforcing policies and controls to reduce the risk of account misuse or hijacking.

• Password Safe securely vaults and rotates credentials while enforcing strict access controls to minimize the risk of theft or misuse.

• Identity Security Insights gives teams visibility into accounts, risky privileges, unusual behavior, and non‑human or AI identities with excessive access providing actionable insights to address potential risks.

Together, this approach focuses on exactly the weaknesses major incidents expose like poor credential hygiene, excessive access rights, and blind spots in monitoring activity.

Identity and privileged access are the first places attackers go in most breaches, whether they start with stolen passwords, third‑party tokens, or high‑value accounts influenced by broader global events. Securing access and watching for risky identity behavior closes the most direct paths into sensitive systems and helps organizations stay resilient as the threat landscape evolves.

Learn more about Total PASM+ here: https://www.beyondtrust.com/products/total-pasm