10 Cybersecurity Trends for Enterprises to Watch in 2025
2025 will be a year of rising costs, changing focus, and increased cybersecurity challenges.
Cybersecurity is driven by a nearly complete transformation to a digital economy. This transformation exposes unprepared organizations to a range of malicious actors.
Organizations around the globe are struggling to adequately protect their sensitive data and systems. The rising costs of cybersecurity measures, including cybersecurity SMEs, has hindered their ability to effectively mitigate risks. Moreover, a growing compliance landscape diverts resources from meaningful cybersecurity initiatives. As a result, organizations are vulnerable to a range of cyberattacks.
While 2025 may bring more of the same in terms of cybersecurity failures, I see 10 clear cybersecurity trends that organizations worldwide are likely to face:
2025 Cybersecurity Forecast: More Threats, More Challenges
- Reliance on Biometric Authentication: All mainstream phones and most new computers have biometric authentication hardware, gaining fast adoption. For client computers, Windows has Windows Hello, and Touch ID is available on MacBooks. Windows Hello is more convenient and is more secure than traditional password-based security in many situations. Biometric authentication is standardized with NIST Special Publications 800-63 and 800-78-3 as well as an ISO standard.
- Rise of IoT and OT Cyberattacks Threatens Critical Infrastructure, such as Healthcare and Energy: The proliferation of IoT devices and Operational Technology (OT) systems expands the potential attack surface beyond traditional IT. IoT and OT technologies are increasingly integrated into critical infrastructure to enhance efficiency, reliability, and remote monitoring. For instance, smart grids utilize IoT sensors to optimize energy distribution, while OT systems control industrial processes in power plants.
- Increased Cybersecurity Compliance: In 2025, we can expect a further surge in compliance requirements globally, from cybersecurity to privacy. These draw resources away from implementing cybersecurity improvements, slow innovation, and might not improve actual security proportional to their cost. During 2024, we’ve seen a few compliance directives already, such as Executive Order 14074, which requires a range of compliance actions for federal agencies, including the implementation of a zero-trust architecture (ZTA) and California SB 1047 (Vetoed). It would have added compliance actions for businesses that collect and store personal data of California residents.
- Increasing Cloud Responsibility: The cloud share of the overall computing is significant and growing. According to a report by IDC, the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5%. With the cloud’s agility and benefits comes a sophisticated platform offering a wide range of complicated security options that must be managed. The AWS and Azure consoles have more dials and levers than a 747 cockpit.
- More Expensive, More Time-Consuming Training and Awareness: Cybersecurity hardware, software, and personnel are expensive, but often less than 5% of the overall IT spend for an organization. As new compliance requirements and new threats come into focus, the defensive spend will need to increase until eventually it matches the offensive threat. The alternative is accepting the consequences of a cyberattack, such as financial loss, reputational damage, and legal liabilities.
- Ransomware Attacks will Continue to Evolve: Many enterprise systems are riddled with severe vulnerabilities, making them easy targets for cyberattacks. Once an attacker successfully exploits a vulnerability, they can gain unauthorized access. Ransomware is among the easiest and most profitable ways to quickly monetize this access.
- AI will be Leveraged by Both Sides: Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a dual role in cybersecurity, with both defensive and offensive applications. While AI can be used to detect and respond to threats more effectively, it can also be leveraged by attackers to lower the technical bar.
- Future Quantum Threats: Long term, the development of quantum computing poses a significant threat to current cryptographic methods. Recent news of researchers at Shanghai University demonstrating quantum decryption of an RSA public key means that the timeline to crack encryption – something that many feel is a decade off – may be much sooner. As quantum decryption capabilities advance, organizations will need to begin adopting quantum-resistant algorithms to protect their data now.
- Nation-State-Sponsored Cyberattacks: Further blurring the line between cybercrime and statecraft, these will expose organizations to extremely skilled and well-funded adversaries that do not need to monetize their cyberattacks. About a year ago Microsoft botched disclosure of an outstandingly well orchastrated Chinese attack on the US government through Microsoft systems.
- Supply chain security: The software supply chain in particular is slowly emerging as a concern as organizations recognize the risks associated with their sprawling SaaS and software portfolios.
Stay Informed
In 2025, organizations will continue to struggle to adequately protect their sensitive data and systems, but new threats are taking focus. The best way to mitigate these threats is to stay informed about emergent tech trends, so you can make informed decisions about organizational priorities.
2025 will be a year of rising costs, changing focus, and increased cybersecurity challenges.
Cybersecurity is driven by a nearly complete transformation to a digital economy. This transformation exposes unprepared organizations to a range of malicious actors.
Organizations around the globe are struggling to adequately protect their sensitive data and systems. The rising costs of cybersecurity measures, including cybersecurity SMEs, has hindered their ability to effectively mitigate risks. Moreover, a growing compliance landscape diverts resources from meaningful cybersecurity initiatives. As a result, organizations are vulnerable to a range of cyberattacks.
While 2025 may bring more of the same in terms of cybersecurity failures, I see 10 clear cybersecurity trends that organizations worldwide are likely to face:
2025 Cybersecurity Forecast: More Threats, More Challenges
- Reliance on Biometric Authentication: All mainstream phones and most new computers have biometric authentication hardware, gaining fast adoption. For client computers, Windows has Windows Hello, and Touch ID is available on MacBooks. Windows Hello is more convenient and is more secure than traditional password-based security in many situations. Biometric authentication is standardized with NIST Special Publications 800-63 and 800-78-3 as well as an ISO standard.
- Rise of IoT and OT Cyberattacks Threatens Critical Infrastructure, such as Healthcare and Energy: The proliferation of IoT devices and Operational Technology (OT) systems expands the potential attack surface beyond traditional IT. IoT and OT technologies are increasingly integrated into critical infrastructure to enhance efficiency, reliability, and remote monitoring. For instance, smart grids utilize IoT sensors to optimize energy distribution, while OT systems control industrial processes in power plants.
- Increased Cybersecurity Compliance: In 2025, we can expect a further surge in compliance requirements globally, from cybersecurity to privacy. These draw resources away from implementing cybersecurity improvements, slow innovation, and might not improve actual security proportional to their cost. During 2024, we’ve seen a few compliance directives already, such as Executive Order 14074, which requires a range of compliance actions for federal agencies, including the implementation of a zero-trust architecture (ZTA) and California SB 1047 (Vetoed). It would have added compliance actions for businesses that collect and store personal data of California residents.
- Increasing Cloud Responsibility: The cloud share of the overall computing is significant and growing. According to a report by IDC, the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5%. With the cloud’s agility and benefits comes a sophisticated platform offering a wide range of complicated security options that must be managed. The AWS and Azure consoles have more dials and levers than a 747 cockpit.
- More Expensive, More Time-Consuming Training and Awareness: Cybersecurity hardware, software, and personnel are expensive, but often less than 5% of the overall IT spend for an organization. As new compliance requirements and new threats come into focus, the defensive spend will need to increase until eventually it matches the offensive threat. The alternative is accepting the consequences of a cyberattack, such as financial loss, reputational damage, and legal liabilities.
- Ransomware Attacks will Continue to Evolve: Many enterprise systems are riddled with severe vulnerabilities, making them easy targets for cyberattacks. Once an attacker successfully exploits a vulnerability, they can gain unauthorized access. Ransomware is among the easiest and most profitable ways to quickly monetize this access.
- AI will be Leveraged by Both Sides: Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a dual role in cybersecurity, with both defensive and offensive applications. While AI can be used to detect and respond to threats more effectively, it can also be leveraged by attackers to lower the technical bar.
- Future Quantum Threats: Long term, the development of quantum computing poses a significant threat to current cryptographic methods. Recent news of researchers at Shanghai University demonstrating quantum decryption of an RSA public key means that the timeline to crack encryption – something that many feel is a decade off – may be much sooner. As quantum decryption capabilities advance, organizations will need to begin adopting quantum-resistant algorithms to protect their data now.
- Nation-State-Sponsored Cyberattacks: Further blurring the line between cybercrime and statecraft, these will expose organizations to extremely skilled and well-funded adversaries that do not need to monetize their cyberattacks. About a year ago Microsoft botched disclosure of an outstandingly well orchastrated Chinese attack on the US government through Microsoft systems.
- Supply chain security: The software supply chain in particular is slowly emerging as a concern as organizations recognize the risks associated with their sprawling SaaS and software portfolios.
Stay Informed
In 2025, organizations will continue to struggle to adequately protect their sensitive data and systems, but new threats are taking focus. The best way to mitigate these threats is to stay informed about emergent tech trends, so you can make informed decisions about organizational priorities.
