Expel Annual Threat Report Shows Identity Compromise Continues to Be Threat Actors’ Favorite Tool
Cybersecurity firm Expel recently published its 2026 Threat Report, which analyzed over 1,000,000 alerts in its Security Operations Center throughout 2025. The results showed that threat actors continue to use compromised credentials to gain access to company systems. The Report highlights the need for companies to educate their employees on an ongoing basis of how important it is to protect their usernames and passwords and to be highly vigilant when being asked to divulge them. According to the Report, more than 68% of reported incidents were identity-based: where a threat actor attempts to use an authorized user’s credentials to access a company’s network . Many used agents that the organization did not authorize, a clear indication that it was not the authorized user trying to logon. In addition, 12% of incidents involved a logon from a suspicious location, showing that companies may wish to monitor and block any logon attempts from unauthorized locations, including foreign countri...