The Forescout 2026 H1 Threat Review found that more than 37,000 vulnerabilities were published during the first six months of the year, representing a 51% increase year on year. More than half were classified as high or critical severity, while ransomware attack claims rose by 25% to 4,544 incidents, averaging 25 attacks every day.

The report, published by Forescout Research – Vedere Labs, analysed more than 37,000 vulnerabilities, over 1,000 tracked threat actors and thousands of cyberattacks observed between January and June 2026. Researchers found that rapid advances in AI, alongside growing geopolitical tensions, are increasing the pressure on security teams already struggling to prioritise risk.

Among the report‘s key findings, researchers discovered that nearly half of all additions to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalogue related to vulnerabilities published before 2026, reinforcing the continued risk posed by older, unpatched flaws. The number of active ransomware groups also increased to 103, while China, Russia and Iran collectively accounted for almost a third of tracked threat actors with significant activity during the reporting period.

The research also highlights the growing use of AI by threat actors to accelerate attacks, alongside increasingly sophisticated software supply chain compromises. At the same time, attackers continue to focus on network infrastructure, operational technology, IoT and IoMT devices, many of which receive less security oversight than traditional endpoints.

“AI is dramatically increasing the speed and scale of cyberattacks,” said Daniel dos Santos, VP of Research at Forescout.

“In observing attack patterns and threat actor activity, we can see that AI is helping threat actors discover and exploit vulnerabilities faster than security teams can realistically remediate them. At the same time, geopolitical conflicts are fuelling waves of opportunistic and state-aligned cyber activity, with organisations in critical infrastructure sectors increasingly at risk.”

He added that organisations need a better understanding of the assets connected to their networks so they can prioritise risk and contain threats before attackers can move laterally into critical systems.

The report also examines the evolution of Iranian cyber operations, noting that the distinction between state-sponsored actors, hacktivist groups and cybercriminal organisations is becoming increasingly blurred. Researchers found these groups are using a mix of espionage campaigns, ransomware and attacks targeting critical infrastructure and operational technology.

Barry Mainz, CEO of Forescout, said organisations must extend their focus beyond traditional endpoints to address unmanaged assets and connected devices.

“As attack surfaces continue to expand, security teams can no longer focus exclusively on traditional endpoints,” he said.

“Many organisations still have significant blind spots across unmanaged assets and IoT, OT, and IoMT devices. Threat actors understand this and are increasingly exploiting those gaps.”

The report recommends that organisations should continuously identify vulnerable assets, strengthen network segmentation, prioritise the highest-risk systems and accelerate response capabilities to reduce exposure across increasingly complex environments.

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New research from Forescout has uncovered a sophisticated phishing campaign that uses fake seasonal eCard invitations to trick victims into installing legitimate remote management software, giving attackers long-term access to compromised devices.

The campaign, dubbed SeasonalInvite by Forescout Research’s Vedere Labs, has been active since at least January 2026 and demonstrates how cybercriminals are increasingly combining social engineering, trusted enterprise software, and AI assisted development techniques to evade traditional security defences.

The full research is available here: SeasonalInvite research

Fake eCards lure victims

According to the report, the attackers use phishing emails disguised as seasonal eCard invitations to persuade users to install legitimate Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools.

Rather than deploying traditional malware, the campaign abuses commercially available software that is commonly used by IT administrators for remote support. Once installed, the tools provide attackers with persistent remote access to compromised systems.

The campaign targets both Windows and macOS users.

During its investigation, Forescout confirmed the abuse of four legitimate RMM platforms:

• ConnectWise ScreenConnect
• LogMeIn Resolve
• Kaseya
• O&O Syspectr

Because these applications are widely trusted within enterprise environments, they are less likely to trigger traditional security controls.

Hundreds of phishing domains identified

Researchers identified a large infrastructure supporting the campaign, including 959 domains themed around electronic greeting cards.

The attackers also operated a sophisticated Traffic Distribution System (TDS) consisting of 2,658 gate pages. The infrastructure was designed to direct legitimate victims to phishing websites while preventing automated security scanners from detecting malicious content.

According to Forescout, this approach makes the campaign significantly harder for security researchers and automated detection systems to identify.

Evidence points to AI generated phishing pages

One of the report’s most notable findings is evidence suggesting the phishing kit itself was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence.

Researchers found indicators that the phishing pages contained AI generated code, leading them to believe the threat actor used a large language model to build delivery pages and quickly adapt the campaign over time.

The findings reflect a growing trend of cybercriminals using AI to accelerate phishing operations, reduce development time, and rapidly generate convincing attack infrastructure.

Trusted software becomes the attack vector

Forescout said SeasonalInvite demonstrates how attackers are shifting away from custom malware in favour of abusing legitimate enterprise tools that organisations already trust.

By combining social engineering with legitimate remote management software and AI assisted development, threat actors can bypass many traditional endpoint security controls while maintaining long-term access to victim devices.

The researchers warn that organisations should not rely solely on malware detection to identify these attacks. Instead, they recommend monitoring for the unauthorised installation and use of remote management tools, strengthening phishing awareness training, and implementing controls that can detect suspicious behaviour rather than simply malicious files.

As attackers continue to refine their techniques, campaigns like SeasonalInvite highlight how trusted software and artificial intelligence are becoming powerful tools in the modern cybercriminal’s arsenal.

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