As the digital world continues to evolve, threats to organizations are becoming more sophisticated, pervasive, and disruptive. Our annual 2025 State of Cyber Security Report is intended to provide cyber security leaders with critical insights into the evolving threat landscape and help them prepare for the advanced threats their organizations may face in the coming year.

This year’s report highlights several key trends that will shape the future of security, from the growing role of AI in cyber warfare to the rising threat of infostealers.

Let’s take a closer look at the five most significant cyber security trends for 2025:

Cyberwars: AI Amplifies Disinformation and Influence Campaigns

In 2025, AI will be increasingly leveraged in cyber warfare, particularly in the context of disinformation and influence campaigns. Nation-state actors and cyber criminals alike are employing AI tools to amplify fake news, create deepfakes, and manipulate public opinion. As these technologies become more advanced and widely-used, the ability to manipulate media, elections, and public sentiment is growing, making it harder to differentiate between truth and fabricated content.

Another concerning trend is the rise of state-affiliated hacktivism. Hacktivists, often with the backing or encouragement of governments, are using cyber attacks to further geopolitical agendas, promoting disinformation and destabilizing their enemies. These activities could be a precursor to more severe cyber wars and a shift in strategy. We may soon experience a transition to larger, more sophisticated attacks with long-term consequences to their targets rather than the attacks that focus on immediate, high-impact damage we’ve seen in the past.

Ransomware: Fragmentation and Data Exfiltration

Ransomware continues to be one of the most prevalent and damaging forms of cyber crime. Law enforcement operations have made significant strides in disrupting large ransomware networks, and we’re now seeing these groups being displaced by smaller, more dynamic groups that quickly shift targets and tactics.

We have also seen a transition from traditional encryption-based ransomware attacks to data exfiltration extortion. Instead of simply locking up files and demanding payment for a decryption key, cyber criminals now steal sensitive data and threaten to release it if their demands are not met. This change in tactic adds an additional layer of pressure on organizations, particularly those that handle confidential or personal data such as those in financial services, healthcare, and education.

Healthcare, once the second most targeted sector for ransomware, has become an even bigger target. A full 10% of ransomware attacks are now in the healthcare industry. There is no moral or ethical boundary for cyber criminals.

Infostealers: A Growing Threat to Individuals and Corporations

Infostealers are on the rise, with a 58% increase in infection attempts year-over-year.

These types of malware are designed to steal sensitive information, including login credentials, tokens, and VPN credentials, often from Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) setups. Infostealers can target both individuals and corporate networks, making them a significant threat to businesses looking to safeguard access to critical systems.

The rise of infostealers coincides with the decline of traditional botnets and banking malware. Infostealers can provide attackers with valuable credentials, creating a backdoor for further exploitation. Ninety percent of breached companies had corporate credentials leaked in a stealer log before the breach. This growing trend poses risks not only to corporate security but also to individual privacy and data protection.

Edge Device Vulnerabilities: A New Access Vector

Edge devices, such as IoT devices, wearables, and remote work hardware, have become prime targets for cyber criminals. Because they operate on the edge of a network, these devices can be less secure and harder to monitor, making them an attractive entry point for attackers. The growth in edge devices as an attack vector underscores the need to secure all of your connected endpoints in order to prevent breaches.

In 2024, we also saw a marked increase in zero-day vulnerabilities affecting edge devices, opening the door for the potential that malicious actors may start exploit these weaknesses more in the future.

Cloud Security: Misconfigurations and Poor Practices

As organizations continue to build out their hybrid cloud infrastructure, the complexity of managing cloud configurations, maintaining compliance, and ensuring visibility across cloud assets has grown. Misconfigured cloud environments can expose sensitive data and provide an easy entry point for cyber criminals. Securing hybrid and multi-cloud environments has become paramount for all mid-size and Enterprise CISOs.

Threat actors now conduct large-scale credential stuffing and “low and slow” brute-force attacks on SSO providers and cloud services​. Attackers are also finding ways to exploit LLMs solutions.

API security remains a critical concern as well. Poor API security practices can expose cloud-based applications to unauthorized access, allowing attackers to steal data, disrupt services, or cause significant damage to cloud environments.

Looking Ahead: Threat Prevention Becomes More Important than Ever  

The cyber security trends for 2025 make one thing clear: the digital landscape is becoming more complex and perilous by the day. And just as cyber defenses improve, cyber criminals and nation-state actors continue to evolve their strategies and tactics to evade these defenses.

Threat prevention continues to be the best defense against complex attack techniques, whether through email, edge device, hybrid cloud or through other attack methods.

As AI begins to be used for new and more complex attacks, ransomware operations become smaller and harder to identify and stop, and the growing threats from infostealers and compromised edge devices, a unified, and prevention-first cyber security strategy becomes critical to stopping cyber breaches.

As we look ahead, the key to staying secure will be a proactive approach to risk management, regular updates to cyber security protocols, and investment in the technologies that will help safeguard against these emerging threats. By understanding and responding to the latest attack trends organizations can begin to develop the strategies they need to stay protected from the next wave of advanced cyber threats.

For the full 2025 State of Cyber Security Report and more specifics on the top cyber security trends to watch for in the coming year, click here.

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