Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2025. Read them in this 17th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By
Theo Zafirakos, Cyber Risk and Information Security Expert, Fortra
As
we approach 2025, organizations are increasingly challenged to maintain
seamless operations amidst growing cyber threats, natural disasters, and
vulnerabilities introduced by third parties. These challenges have highlighted
the critical importance of operational resilience and the need for
organizations to consistently test their incident response plans. As
organizations become more reliant on external vendors, ensuring these partners
are resilient and compliant has also emerged as a priority. These are the key
areas of focus for any organization wishing to keep pace with these risks in
2025.
The
Importance of Operational Resilience
Operational
resilience will become a non-negotiable requirement for organizations across
all industries in 2025. Organizations that do not regularly test their
resilience plans leave themselves exposed to a wide range of potential
disruptions. Whether it's a cyberattack, a natural disaster, or a third-party
failure, the aftermath can be severe for unprepared organizations. It is not
uncommon for recovery times to exceed acceptable timeframes, leading to costly
downtime, data loss, and in some cases, breaches of service-level agreements
(SLAs). The resulting financial and reputational damage can be
catastrophic.
In
2025, organizations will increasingly prioritize regular operational resilience
and incident response testing to mitigate these risks. These exercises can take
many forms, including disaster recovery simulations, Red Team/Blue Team
exercises, and tabletop drills that walk teams through hypothetical crises.
These simulations assist in the identification of gaps and vulnerabilities,
enabling companies to adjust their response plans accordingly and ensure the
proper stakeholders are engaged. Furthermore, frequent testing serves to
demonstrate compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.
Managing
Third-Party Risks
As
organizations become more reliant on third-party providers-whether for cloud
infrastructure, communication platforms, or other essential services-the risks
associated with these partnerships have become more pronounced. Several major
incidents in 2024 demonstrated the potential consequences of a key vendor
experiencing an outage. The disruption to operations for many clients of these
service providers was significant and widespread. In 2025, organizations will
need to adopt a more proactive approach to managing third-party risk. Instead
of just evaluating their vendors' resilience and security practices,
organizations will focus on continuous monitoring. Service providers must
demonstrate their ability to handle disruptions and meet regulatory requirements.
Vendors that fail to meet the new standards will likely be replaced by
competitors offering more reliable and transparent practices.
In
the current business climate, organizations will look to consolidate their
vendor relationships, preferring to partner with fewer suppliers that can
demonstrate robust security and resilience requirements. As a result, the
dynamics of the vendor-client relationship will fundamentally change, with
resilience becoming a key criterion in vendor selection.
Service
Providers Must Evolve
The
growing demands from businesses will push service providers to enhance their
own security controls and operational maturity. By 2025, the requirements will
be much higher for vendors providing critical services. It is anticipated that
new and existing regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR), the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in Europe, and the
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the U.S. will continue to require
stricter standards for data protection, privacy, and operational
resilience.
In
this environment, non-compliance will result in significant financial and legal
consequences. Service providers will need to ensure their systems are resilient
enough to maintain continuity even in the face of unforeseen disruptions. This
will be particularly true for cloud-based infrastructure and communication
services, which will be expected to provide robust, scalable solutions that can
weather both technical and physical crises.
Service
providers that fail to meet these evolving expectations risk losing business to
competitors that are better prepared. On the other hand, those that invest in
bolstering their security measures and demonstrate compliance with global
regulations will emerge as trusted partners, gaining a competitive edge in the
marketplace.
Preparing
for 2025 and Beyond
As
these trends continue to unfold, businesses must stay ahead of the curve by
investing in stronger resilience strategies, testing their preparedness, and
holding their partners accountable. The future belongs to organizations that
can adapt, anticipate, and overcome disruptions-and those that fail to do so
risk falling behind the competition.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Theo Zafirakos, CISSP, Cyber Risk and Information Security Expert, Fortra
Theo provides CISO Professional Services to our clients and regularly speaks on the topic of cyber security awareness training. He has over 25 years of experience in technology and security and holds the CISSP certification.
Theo joined Fortra through the acquisition of Terranova Security. Over the last 7 years with Terranova Security, Theo supported hundreds of clients to implement effective security awareness programs, tailored to their unique realities and objectives.
Prior to joining Terranova Security, Theo was responsible for cyber security at a leading North American transportation and logistics company. In his role as CISO, he was responsible for all aspects of information security strategy and governance.
Theo was one of the founding members of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the National Cybersecurity Alliance. He regularly speaks on the topic of security awareness culture and phishing simulation training at industry events.