Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2025. Read them in this 17th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By
Jawahar Sivasankaran, President, Cyware
New tools, techniques, and technologies are transforming
the way cyber attackers attack and defenders defend, and new threats are
emerging that will afflict organizations throughout 2025 and the years ahead.
The new year signals that it's time to consider some of
these threats and strategies that will help protect against them.
2025 Cybersecurity Predictions
We'll
likely see the following in 2025.
Proliferation of AI-Driven Cyber Attacks
AI-driven
cyber-attacks are set to escalate, transforming the scale and sophistication of
malicious activities. Phishing campaigns powered by generative AI will create
flawless, personalized emails that adapt in real-time to bypass security
measures. Adaptive malware, enhanced by AI, will learn and evolve, making
detection increasingly difficult.
Generative AI enables even small cybercriminal groups lacking
advanced technical skills to launch large-scale,
highly targeted attacks. Automating processes, threat actors can tap into
cybersecurity tools and technologies, democratizing cybercrime and expanding its
reach.
AI's cybersecurity risks extend well beyond direct attacks
as AI embeds deeper into daily life. We've already seen how employees
inadvertently sharing sensitive data with AI platforms like ChatGPT place
organizations and their data in peril. In response, organizations must adopt
robust controls to balance AI's benefits with privacy concerns, ensuring data
protection against accidental exposure while staying vigilant against evolving
AI-powered threats.
Further Sophistication of Social
Engineering Attacks and Exploitation of Social Media
Cybercriminals will increasingly exploit the convergence of
social media and generative AI to conduct advanced social engineering attacks.
Platforms like LinkedIn, where users expect legitimate professional
connections, will continue to be fertile ground for impersonation, and
AI-powered tools will craft convincing personas, enabling attackers to pose as
employees, executives, or trusted partners, breaching corporate defenses with
new ease.
Deepfakes and AI bots will amplify these threats by
mimicking voices, appearances, and behaviors in real-time, blurring the lines
between genuine interactions and forgery. Imagine participating in a video
conference call, only to realize later it was an AI-generated deception. These
technologies will disrupt not just individual users but also financial
transactions, corporate decision-making, and brand reputations. This is yet
another reason why organizations must evolve their security measures, integrating
advanced tools and adopting zero-trust principles. Employee training will also
be critical to navigating this new environment where every interaction demands
scrutiny and skepticism.
Supply Chain Attacks Will Further Escalate
Security attacks targeting supply chains will reach
dangerous new levels of sophistication, as AI and automation allow rapid,
targeted attacks and the rapid spread of ransomware across interconnected
networks, all of which will make early detection and mitigation
profoundly critical. Large-scale supply chain cyber incidents can be
expected to disrupt industries globally.
The reliance on critical vendors magnifies the cascading
effects of such attacks, pushing businesses to enroll cyber insurance and
governments to enforce stricter regulatory standards. Organizations must
prioritize compliance, enhance phishing defenses, and train employees to
counter increasingly convincing AI-driven impersonations and attacks.
Regulatory Changes Will Impact
Cybersecurity Practices
The regulatory landscape must by necessity become
increasingly stringent, with frameworks like NIS2 demanding a greater focus on
cybersecurity. This means organizations will be forced to direct more time,
resources, and money toward their cybersecurity strategies. While these
regulations are intended to strengthen security postures, they also add layers
of operational complexity, forcing businesses to dedicate more focus and effort
to meeting these standards.
Effective Threat Intelligence and
Collective Defense Are Essential in 2025
Effective threat intelligence and collective defense are
vital in 2025 to address the evolving cyber threats. Sharing actionable
insights enhances resilience, enabling organizations to anticipate and mitigate
risks before they evolve into impactful incidents. A collaborative approach
strengthens defenses across interconnected ecosystems, ensuring compliance and
safeguarding businesses against increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
Adopting a Deeper View of the Risk
Environment
Ensuring security in 2025 relies on understanding risks
beyond corporate borders, including those impacting your supply chain and
third-party partners. Tools like Cyware's Collaborate (CSAP) - which includes
vulnerability advisory sharing, threat assessment surveys, action assignment,
and security collaboration capabilities - can provide a panoramic view of the risk
environment as well as a deeper intelligence perspective to protect against third-party
risks.
Threat Intelligence Will Be a
Cornerstone of Proactive Defense
As threats evolve and attackers grow more sophisticated,
timely and actionable cyber
threat intelligence will play an increasingly important role in protecting
organizations. This intelligence is crucial for anticipating and mitigating
threats to your business, helping you establish a deep understanding of
individual threat actor profiles and the broader cybersecurity threat
landscape.
Building Resilience Through Collective
Defense
While competing organizations are often reluctant to work
with each other, when it comes to cybersecurity, we really are stronger
together. Taking part in collective defense efforts - such as by joining
sector-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) and operational collaboration
frameworks that leverage public-private partnerships - grants you greater
visibility into the threats your business faces, allowing for more efficient
and effective threat intelligence management and response.
Ensuring Compliance with Regulations
like NIS2
Regulations like the NIS2 Directive and DORA
explicitly mandate that organizations operating in critical sectors of the EU
share threat intelligence and collaborate on security measures. While meeting
these requirements will require time, resources, and finances, it's important
not to view these regulations as an operational obstacle. These requirements
exist to ensure cybersecurity resiliency. Non-compliance can be damaging, but
the consequences of a successful attack are often far worse.
Looking Ahead
2025 is set
to be a particularly tough year for cybersecurity, with supply chain attacks
escalating, AI supercharging attack techniques, and bolstered regulations
burdening compliance teams - but these challenges are not insurmountable.
By implementing threat intelligence management and
collective defense strategies, organizations of all shapes and sizes can take
the fight to threat actors and prepare themselves for the year ahead. Seek to gain
a holistic approach to cybersecurity that integrates threat intelligence,
security orchestration, and automation. This approach connects data across your
organization, automates incident response, and enables real-time collaboration and
response to threats before they cause any damage.
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